Unexpected Warrior
by coldheartedshiva
Summary: An orphan struggling to survive on her own and find where she belongs, but falls victim to an accident. She is given a chance to go on an adventure and maybe find where she really belongs. "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it".
1. Chapter 1

_**((Disclaimer: I do not own The Hobbit or its characters. The female OC however is mine))**_

* * *

Rain. How she loved rain. Rain washed away the old to make way for the new. The smell of water and wet earth filled her nose. The sound of raindrops splashing into the puddles on the ground brought a sense of peace to my heart that it could only fill.

However, as much as she loved rain, it was another thing to be walking in it for two miles and another to be carrying so much baggage. A clash of thunder sounded above her head, quickly followed by a flash of lightning. Kyra sighed as she walked down the street towards her apartment after a long day of college and the dojo. Her black duffle bag was hanging from her right shoulder over one of her book bag straps, making her walk slightly lopsided.

Slowing to a stop to adjust the strap of her duffle, she could hear the slight muffled clinking of metal inside. Her taiji jian and nandao swords rested inside, along with a couple of sheaths full of kunai under her regular clothing, gi, and towel.

A yawn escaped as she started walking again. She started thinking over her new kata routine for the katana for the upcoming martial arts competition at the end of the month. Being on the college martial arts team, meant a lot of dedication and was a great honor. Another yawn escaped her and her thoughts started drifting off to her team.

The martial arts team wasn't just hand-to-hand combat. They covered many fighting styles ranging from swords, bows, staffs, to judo, jujitsu; wing chun, bushido, and even wushu. She personally specialized in wushu, even though she wasn't a master just yet. Wushu is one of the many martial art forms from China.

Her father used to be a history professor for the University of Idaho about Chinese history and culture. One of his favorite subjects to teach in his classes had been about the many different fighting styles they had. As she grew up, his love of wushu also became hers. She also learned that her mother had been a master. He told her that when her mother had been a child, she had moved from Idaho to live in China for a time when her father was stationed there with the U.S. military.

She had started taking lessons in wushu when she was around six years old and continued the lessons until adulthood, where she became a master while studying at the same university as her soon to be husband attended. She continued it, even after Kyra was born until she no longer could when she became bedridden with leukemia when Kyra was two years old. Her mother passed not too long after Kyra's third birthday. Soon after, she begged her father to let her learn.

Kyra wanted to keep a piece of her mother with her as well as honor her; it also made Kyra feel like her mother was still here. He agreed. She didn't really remember her but she did remember a saying she used to say to her every night, "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it". Kyra's father kept the tradition every night until his passing when she was twelve. He was killed in a car accident with a drunk driver.

Ten years later, she still practiced wushu. Even now, she still repeats the saying every night before she fell to sleep. Her thoughts were interrupted as a bright light was coming her way. She looked up as a car came flying by, hitting the huge puddle of water that lay in the middle of the road, causing a wave to splash onto her already soaked body.

"Thanks asshole!" she shouted at the distancing car. Its red tail lights becoming dim in the distance. She turned back forward and decided to not walk on the sidewalk any more. Walking to her left, Kyra slowly climbed down the small, slippery hill to the woods below her. Lightning flashed once, twice, three times before the thunder followed loudly. There was a short cut many college students used to cut across the woods to get from the small ocean of apartments to the college campus.

Halfway down the hill, she let out a gasp as she felt her foot slip on grass. As she fell forward, her backpack and duffle flew over her head, pulling her down the hill at a rapid pace. Everything became a blur as she rolled. She could hear branches breaking as she went into the forest. Her vision became more clouded as her forehead exploded with pain before she came to a stop when her body slammed into something hard. A moan escaped when she tried to move her legs.

Her body could barely move because of the pain. Lifting her head slightly off the ground, she managed to catch sight of the tree that she had fallen into. Her head became too heavy to hold up any longer, she let it fall to the wet ground with a quiet thud. Rain continued to pour down as she laid there; running over her face and body. Eyes growing heavy and the night seemed even darker than before as she closed them. All she could hear was the rain. How she loved the rain.

* * *

"Whyyyyyyy?" Kyra whined as she struggled to move her head out of the light into the ground. "Why is it so bright?" she started to roll over onto her other side when searing pain shot up through her body; the ground muffling her scream. She lay frozen on the ground until the pain subsided enough for her to try to open her eyes.

First thing she noticed was some dirt and grass inches from her face. Morning dew still glistened in the sun. Memories of the night before came to her mind as she saw the tree that she was still resting against with her duffle bag about two feet away. At least she hadn't lost her weapons.

Carefully lifting her head as far as she could manage, she tried to take in the damage to her left side; deciding if she could move or not. Not seeing any blood on her grey hoodie. Kyra gently removed her book bag from her back and leaned it against the tree to look through once she was in a better position.

Kyra slowly started to move into a sitting position; her hood falling off her head as she gripped the tree trunk for leverage so she didn't strain her side too much. Once situated, she tried to look at her surroundings while trying to catch her breath. The forest was different. The one that she took the shortcut through from the campus and home was filled with quaking aspens and western hemlocks. This forest did not have either.

These trees looked like they were part of the maple tree family. She couldn't even see the outline of the buildings over the trees like she normally could when she was in the middle of the small forest. This didn't look small at all. As her breathing evened out, she could only hear birds chirping and some rustling of leaves. No sounds of cars or students yelling and laughing; just pure nature.

Knowing it was pointless to yell for help, she laid her forehead against the trunk to just gasp in pain. Pulling back, she raised her hand to feel her head where the pain had come from. Dried blood fell in flakes when she withdrew her hand.

"Great, just great." Letting out a frustrated sigh, she wiped the remaining blood off her hand onto her pants before reaching for her book bag. Unzipping one of the smaller front pockets, she found a Zippo lighter for emergencies, hairbrush, comb, zip lock bag of hair bands, another zip lock bag with my toothbrush and a new tube of toothpaste, and a small plastic box with eyebrow bars and earrings.

Placing everything back, she opened the middle pocket to find two water bottles, unopened energy bars, rice crispy treats, gum, a blue carrying case for colored pencils as well as other writing utensils, an iPod with a full battery, Razor headphones, and a wallet. At least she wouldn't be thirsty and hungry at the moment; quickly taking a couple of gulps of her water before placing everything back into the pocket.

Once making sure the first two pockets were securely closed and zipped up, she opened the last remaining pocket. Inside was a history book based around World War II, a planner, sketch book, one spiral notebook, one composition notebook, and a small copy of The Hobbit.

'Okay, got some food, water, light, and some paper to help build a fire if needed'. Giving herself a mental pat on the back, she glanced over to her duffle. She knew off the top of her head that it had a change of clothes, couple pairs of socks, her fighting gi, a towel, weapons, and a small bag with medical supplies including an ace bandage in case of injuries at the dojo.

Gripping the tree once more, she slowly pulled herself up into a standing position. Kyra leaned heavily against the tree so she could use both hands to feel her ribs. Hissing in pain, she couldn't feel any breakage and the fact that she could breathe without too much trouble meant there wasn't anything broken. She needed to get to her duffle so she could wrap up the bruised ribs.

Grabbing her book bag, she slid it back on while she glared at the duffle before slowly walking towards it. She managed to grab it and slide it onto her uninjured side before heading further into the woods. About five minutes later, she noticed a fallen log.

"Score!" Walking quickly over to the log, she took off her bags and laid them on top so she could grab the ace bandages. She made quick work of her hoodie and black spaghetti strap tank top. Standing in only dark green cargo pants, well worn hiking boots, and sports bra, she could make out the ugly bruise that had already formed on her left ribs. She couldn't help but sigh in frustration before starting to wrap her middle.

Once everything was tied tight and secured, she quickly grabbed her brush and yanked out her hair band from her messy hair. She managed to get all the sticks and leaves out before starting to brush out the knots caused from the fall.

'This is so frustrating,' she thought as she finished putting her hair into a Dutch braid. Fastening the end of her hair into the band, Kyra continued to glance around her surroundings. 'Might as well keep going forward'.

While redressing, she decided to add her weapons onto her person instead of keeping them in their bag. Just in case anything should happen. She did know hand-to-hand combat but sometimes people would avoid a person easier if not all together when they had an actual weapon showing. She strapped kunai onto the back of her belt which was hidden under her hoodie while putting her taiji jian sword on her left side.

The nandao also stayed hidden between the book bag and her back, in case she was disarmed or would need an offhand weapon. Nodding to herself in satisfaction, she couldn't help but smile a little. Picking up the duffle with a slight wince, she started walking further into the unknown forest.

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it."

* * *

Sweat slid down the back of her neck to hide in the neckline of her hoodie. Groaning in frustration, she wiped away the sweat with her sleeve. The sound of crunching leaves seemed to follow her for what seemed like days. However, it had only been a few hours. The heat was rising as the sun floated high in the sky. A growl echoed around her before being followed by a sharp pain in her stomach.

Even more annoyed, she rolled her eyes at her hunger. As smoothly as she could with her ribs, she slid off her bags to grab an energy bar and a drink from her water bottle. Placing the energy bar in her hoodie pocket, she put her bags back in place. Moving forward, it was easy to fall back into the steady pace she was traveling in. Pulling the bar out of her pocket and unwrapped it.

Taking a bite of the bar, she glanced around the forest. She knew for sure this was not home. Maybe she had transported somewhere, like another state but that didn't feel right in her gut. There had been stories in the newspaper for years about people being "transported" to different places or just plain disappearing after being "transported." She never took it seriously until now. Crinkling the now empty wrapper into a ball, she slid it into one of her many pockets on her pants.

She blinked in surprise before frowning as her fingers brushed against a cool plastic item. Deciding to put the wrapper in a different pocket, she pulled out the plastic item to see that it was her Samsung galaxy phone in its plastic protective case and earbud headphones wrapped around it; while she turned the phone on, she un-wrapped the earbuds from it. Slipping the left earbud into the neckline of her hoodie as she slowed to a stop and placed the other earbud into her right ear, she stared at the screen.

Quickly unlocking the screen, she noticed there was no signal and the location indicator wouldn't lock on. She pressed on the Bixby button, hoping it would help. A soft melody came through the earbud as a greeting in writing appeared on the screen. "Hi Kyra Summers! Welcome back!" As she continued to try and navigate the app, it soon became apparent that it was useless. There was no way to lock onto her location.

"This is so stupid!" she grumbled angrily before she tore the earbuds away from herself and wrapped them around the phone. Stuffing it back into her pants pocket, Kyra hurried through the forest. According to the time on her phone, she had a good four to five hours of sunlight before it started to get dark. At least that should be the case and if it was then she wanted to find a safe place to camp for the night.

* * *

Kyra studied her history book and notebook as she sat in front of a small pile of sticks. Deciding to use the spiral notebook, she tore five pages out of it before putting the notebook and history book away. She crumpled the torn pages up into separate lose balls before placing them under the sticks. Using her Zippo lighter, she lit the papers on fire and patiently watched as the sticks caught fire along with the paper. Satisfied with her small fire, she pulled out one of the water bottles and an energy bar.

As she ate, Kyra marked in her planner when she had appeared in the forest. She hoped she found service or even any type of civilization so she could find out where she was. She needed to get home. The tournament was soon and she still had finals to study for. Of all the times for this to happen, it had to happen during the busiest times of the semester. She also needed to find a second job for the winter season so she could have the extra money to buy her books for the spring semester. Her current job had given her two weeks off because of the tournament but with the way it was going, she would have to spend these two weeks getting home instead of training.

Last time she felt this lost on options was when she was placed in a group home after her father's passing. Feels of hopelessness filled her, the longer she sat staring at the planner. The hopelessness quickly changed to anger and she tossed the planner to the side next to her duffle bag. A sharp pain caused her to cry out and grip her ribs. In her worry of her situation, she had forgotten about her bruised ribs. Her anger faded quickly as a sense of foreboding took its place as she slowly laid down, using her towel as a pillow. She knew she would need courage for the coming days.

* * *

A loud frustrated groan filled the air followed by a thump of something heavy falling over. Kyra lay on her back, staring up at the sky. It's been five days since she woke up in the forest and there still was no sign of civilization. She had managed to find a stream a couple of days before to wash the blood from her face and apply a band-aid to the cut on her forehead. Her ribs were also on the mend so at least that was going for her. Letting out a huff, she slowly sat back up to stare at the grass covered hills. She left the forest two days prior and have been walking across the grassy hills since.

A mountain range could be seen in the far distance, but no signs of a road or a well worn path. Kicking the ground in anger, she stuffed her planner back in her book bag and pulled out her IPod and headphones. The headphones are razor brand. They were made to block out sound which at the moment, she needed. Quickly putting on some Metallica, she let her body relax as she gazed at the scenery.

The food supply was running low, with only three energy bars and one rice crispy treat left. The water bottles were easily filled in the stream she came by two days ago. Civilization would allow her to try and buy some food as well as try to figure out where she was.

She just needed to find some sort of sign on which way to go. That's all she wanted and hoped for but all she was getting was frustration and a headache. If she knew where she was it would be helpful. The landscape did not look familiar to her from anything she's ever seen in movies or pictures. It was starting to feel like she may no longer be in America but across the world.

Movement above caught her attention. Looking up to her left, she caught sight of a raven flying over head. Her gaze followed the bird as it flew over her. As the bird became distant, she noticed smoke in the far horizon. Kyra stared at the smoke and the bird as it continued to fly towards it. The raven let out a loud cry before it disappeared into the clouds.

The cry was enough to jerk Kyra into motion. She quickly turned off her IPod and packed everything away. That smoke hopefully meant people. With a quick pace, Kyra set off towards her new destination.

* * *

Sounds of horses and shouting filled the air as Kyra got closer to the top of a decent sized hill. The view of a small town greeted her as she reached her destination. A smile graced her face before racing down as fast as she could down the steep hill. Stopping at the edge of the buildings, she tried to compose herself and calm down her racing heart. With a deep breath, she moved down the alley towards all the noise.

She quickly noticed that the buildings looked older and that the alley way was not paved, it was pure dirt. Maybe she found an Amish community? If that was the case then she would need to be careful and make sure they didn't feel threatened by her weapons. Cautiously entering what looked to be the main road, Kyra's eyes widened in surprise and shock; freezing her in her current spot between the two buildings. Everything was different. She had expected old fashioned like carriages that the Amish had but this was way before old fashioned became a thing. Everyone seemed to be dressed in a cross of medieval era to colonial period.

' _Could I have stumbled upon a faire?'_ Her thoughts were interrupted when men riding on horses passed by, some leaving and some coming into the little town. Some were wearing armor but all were wearing some type of weapon on their bodies. Women were shopping with children in tow at stalls with fresh fruit, fish, and what looked to be dried meat. Kyra took a hesitant step forward when she sight of the shop across the street from her. The window was full of swords, daggers, and a quiver of arrows. This was not an Amish community.

"Are you alright miss?" A female voice asked from her left. Kyra's breathing became shallow as she examined the town in front of her before looking at the owner of the voice. A much older woman in her forties stood next to her.

"Where am I?" Kyra's voice contained a slight quiver in it. The older woman blinked, surprise showed on her face before concern overcame her features.

"We are in the town called Naethen in Eriador." The name Eriador rang familiar in her mind but she only remembered it from one of her favorite books. Her breathing started to become unsteady.

"Wait what? Eriedor? But that's only in...in…" Kyra stuttered, unable to finish her sentence as a panic attack started to set in.

"In Middle Earth? Of course it is miss." Kyra shook her head in denial before taking a step back from the older woman. She needed to take deep breaths.

"That's not possible. That means we're in-between Dunland and the Shire, right?" ' _Breathe Kyra, breathe.'_

"That is right. Are you alright miss?" While she was taking deep breaths in through her nose and out through her mouth, she nodded to the woman.

"Yes. Yes I'm fine. How far is Dunland and the Shire from us?"

"I'd say Dunland is about six day journey to the southwest. The Shire is ten days to the north east from here, if you leave on the morrow."

"I need to sit down." Instead of being transported to a different country like she thought, she got put into a book. _Why was this happening?_ Kyra leaned heavily against the nearby building. Blocking out all the noise around her and making her mind go blank; she focused only on her breathing. A few minutes passed before her breathing went back to normal. A gentle touch on her shoulder broke through her wall.

"Are you lost miss?" Kyra raised her head to look at the other woman. She smiled gently at her as tears filled her eyes.

"It seems I'm very far from home," she whispered sadly.

"Come with me dear. Let's get some food in that belly of yours and some rest. I'm Eleanor. This way." Eleanor gently grabbed Kyra's hand and led her through the town. She was too dumbfounded to issue a response and let the older woman have her way.

* * *

Kyra stood in front of a water basin ad small wall mirror. As she dried her face after the vicious scrubbing she had given it as well as removing the band-aid from her forehead, she could see the dark circles under her burgundy colored eyes. Stepping back from basin, she lifted her shirt to unwrap her bandage to check her ribs. Seeing that the bruise had faded pretty well, she decided she would no longer need the extra support.

Putting the wrap into her duffle, re-adjusted her shirt and shot another glance of her face in the mirror. She noticed she lost some weight in her cheeks and the cut on her face would become a scar. With a deep sigh she started to fix her braid before bed. As she worked the braid, she noticed the color was faded. _So much for the hair dye being semi permanent._

Once the braid was complete, Kyra climbed into bed and stared at the ceiling. Sleep wasn't going to come easy tonight. The confusion of the situation was making her mind whirl with questions and theories. Eleanor had explained that the year was 2941 in the Third Age but could not offer much more in information. Even with this information, the thought of being in Middle Earth seemed so farfetched but so real that is caused a slight panic in her gut. If this really was Middle Earth, then when was she? She remembered that the year 2941 was the year The Hobbit took place but not what month. It seemed her questions would have to wait for later.

The other woman had convinced her to at least stay the night after eating her fill at dinner. She had mentioned that a wizard had passed through a couple of days before, heading towards the shire. Kyra wondered if it was Gandalf or even Radagast. Either way, hopefully they could help her even if it was only answers. If she was truly honest with herself, she didn't feel the urge to go home anymore. As each day passed and the more information she gathered, the more she felt comfortable in this world.

She didn't have to hide her weapons and her training. She wasn't being forced to interact with society if she did not want to. However, even with the urge to leave diminished, a new fear made its presence known. She did not want to lose who she was in this world; the piercings, her green colored hair, and her clothing style. Everything represented her and who she was but her clothing wasn't going to last forever here.

Even so, she still had wushu and her weapons; they were just as much a part of her as anything else. Kyra knew she was being selfish but with so many things taken from her, she couldn't help but want to cling to anything and everything from her home world. Rolling over onto her side to stare at the wall, her eyelids began to fill heavy as sleep finally started to catch up to her. The journey to find the wizard started in the morning.

* * *

"This should be enough dried meat to last you until you reach the Shire. I took that composition notebook and pens you gave me last night to trade for some things that you might need. I was able to get you a wet stone and oil for your weapons, a proper water skin, a bedroll and some money that was left over. You'll need them for your journey," Eleanor explained while she repacked Kyra's book bag. Tears filled her eyes as she watched the older woman. It had been a long time since she got to be mothered; she had forgotten what it felt like. Eleanor's concern truly touched her.

"Thank you so much for everything. You have no idea how grateful I am for your help and the care you have given me." She hugged Eleanor tightly before swinging her bags onto their position on her back. Eleanor smiled sadly in return as they exited her house.

"You are always welcome here Kyra Summers." They both smiled at each other before Kyra turned and walked away. She had to catch up to that wizard. When she was a good mile from the town, she put in her earphones and turned on her IPod. Hopefully the music would make the time go by faster. She also hoped she had the courage to accept whatever came her way.

* * *

Kyra munched on a dried piece of meat as she walked along the dirt road. She was pretty annoyed that her IPod was at half battery as of yesterday, so she turned it off and put it away in her book bag and now was left with only her thoughts. Her spiral notebook was also almost out of paper so the history book was next to use. The trip itself had been pretty boring and she was only roughly halfway to her destination. Eleanor said it was a ten day travel to the Shire and Kyra had only been traveling for five days. There have been a few people she passed here and there on the road but it's been pretty rare.

Pulling out her phone to look at the time, she realized it was close to dinner time which meant close to the sun setting. Once her phone was turned back off and put away, Kyra moved to her left to seek shelter for the night. Spotting a small cluster of trees about half a mile from the road where she could take shelter for the night. There were these clusters of trees on and off along the road along her journey so why not take advantage of them.

As she walked towards the trees, she couldn't help but still wonder why she was there. Maybe it was for her knowledge? For her fighting skills? Kyra knew that there were plenty of men out there that knew the story better than her and that could also fight. So maybe it was because she was female? It was another question to add to her list to ask the wizard.

Reaching the trees, Kyra set about setting up her little campsite. The sun had started to set by the time she was done; everything had been setup and the fire crackling happily. Feeling content, Kyra took off her hoodie to check her ribs. Last time she checked them thoroughly was at Eleanor's. The bruising had been preventing her from training each night but they've been healing pretty well and the tenderness was pretty much gone. Satisfied with her progress, she lowered her shirt before getting up to move a little bit away from her camp to do some stretches.

Several minutes passed by as she stretched. Kyra quickly moved into her kata routine once her last stretch was complete. All worries disappeared as the sounds and scents of nature filled her senses; her movements strong but with a fluid motion like that of water. Twirling her body, Kyra crouched on her right leg as she swung out her left leg clockwise along the ground, the grass rustling with the movement. Time seemed to slow with each breath she inhaled, her heartbeat steady with each exhale. As Kyra moved closer to the end of the kata she whispered into the night air, " _courage is not the absence of fear, but the_

* * *

Kyra couldn't help but let out a small whine of pain at her body feeling sore and heavy from the kata routine the night before as she rolled over to get up from her makeshift bed. It had been ten days since she had been able to do any stretching and routines so it came as no shock to her that her body was feeling like this. Letting out a huff of annoyance, Kyra went back to the same spot from last night to begin her stretches and her morning kata routine. About forty minutes later, Kyra was back on the road, munching on some meat.

* * *

Three days later found Kyra walking towards what looked like a small valley of tiny hills. The morning dew glistened with tiny rainbows. A gentle breeze blew across the grass, unsettling several clusters of water rainbows. Kyra was humming to herself in contentment as she got closer to the Shire. From her readings, this had to be it. She had begun re-reading The Hobbit when she left Eleanor, to make sure she was up to date on everything in case she needed it. Her humming stopped when she realized that if this was Middle Earth, she would have to destroy the book so no one else could get the knowledge that lay inside.

She knew if someone got it and was able to read it, then the futures of Erebor and the Fellowship was going to fail. A deep sigh escaped her as she quickly fell into a depressed state; her eyes falling from the hills to stare at her moving feet. The quest for Erebor hadn't even started yet, as far as she knew and she was already anxious over what could happen. So wrapped up in her thoughts, she failed to see a tall grey figure standing in front of her until she collided with it. With an un-ladylike snort in surprise, Kyra quickly stepped back to look at what she had run into.

Her eyes widened in shock at the sight in front of her. A cry of surprise escaped her mouth as she stepped back away even further from the grey figure. The further she got the more clear the figure became. Stopping a good six feet away, her shock slowly faded to pure disbelief. The figure she had run into wasn't just a figure at all, but a man, a very tall man with a grey hat that looked vaguely familiar. As her eyes examined the tall man, he was regarding her in the same way. Kyra's eyes blinked rapidly in surprise as her mouth dropped open in realization of who she literally walked into.

"Gandalf!" The grey wizard just smiled softly at her as his eyes twinkled.

"Hello my dear Kyra Summers. I have been waiting for you." Kyra's mouth slammed shut at his words. _Was he joking!?_

"Waiting? How could you have been waiting!? How do you even know my name? I don't even understand what's going on." Anger filled her as she spoke harshly at the old man. She quickly felt overwhelmed and anxious by what was happening.

"But don't you?" Kyra couldn't help but just stare at the old wizard as her anger quickly fading but the feelings of being anxious stayed with her. She turned her back to him and started walking in the other direction, away from him and the Shire. She needed to think and quickly. This was the wizard she was looking for and she had questions that needed answered but her feet kept carrying her away from him.

"Come now my dear, I'm sure that you have been able to put pieces together," called Gandalf as his long legs carried him past her so he could stand in her path.

Kyra was forced to stop walking to once again stare up at him. She refused to speak; her mind in turmoil and her face blank. Turning to her left, she started walking once more towards the hills and where some boulders lay that was close by. Not letting on that she heard the wizard sigh or that he was following her, she remained quiet until reaching her destination. Laying down her bags against the stone, she scratched her head in frustration, causing her hood to fall to reveal her green colored hair before she started taking off her weapons; her anxiousness fading away with the familiar movements.

"I will be camping here. You may join if you wish and we can talk about _my_ situation some more if you decide to stay," she spoke in her best uncaring voice before getting out the things necessary to set up the fire. Gandalf smiled, with his eyes twinkling at her answer.

"I do believe that I will stay with you." Taking a seat on the other side of the baby fire, the wizard pulled out his pipe. Kyra rolled her eyes before plopping down as well. Pulling out some of her dried meat, she silently offered a piece to him. He took it just as silently with a nod of thanks.

The sound of the fire crackling filled the small campsite as the two strangers ate in silence. Kyra's thoughts were focused on the differences between Gandalf in person to that of him in the books and movies.

"Gandalf, are you headed to meet Bilbo Baggins about a quest?" she inquired without looking up from the fire. The wizard chewed his meat thoughtfully before answering.

"Indeed I am."

So she really was at the beginning of The Hobbit and she was in Middle Earth, not that she doubted Eleanor but why? Why was she here? Twirling the bottom of her braid in her free hand, she failed to see Gandalf examine her green hair. Was it to make sure the quest succeeded? Was it to save the line of Durin? Was it both? Could she even go home? Completely lost in thought, she once again failed to notice Gandalf as he cleared his throat.

"Your thoughts hold you captive Miss Summers." Kyra snapped her head towards the wizard while blinking rapidly.

"What?" Gandalf chuckled at her confusion.

"Your mind seems elsewhere. You have questions and I will be happy to answer any that I am able." She nodded her understanding but didn't speak until she finished chewing; giving her a moment to think over what she should or shouldn't ask. Swallowing the last of her piece of her meal and taking a couple of drinks from her water bottle, she finally came to a decision.

"Did the Valar pick me to go on the quest that you and fourteen others are to go on or was I just a convenient mistake?" After asking her question, she watched the wizard with a raised eyebrow. Gandalf also raised an eyebrow at her question before taking a long drag from his pipe. As he slowly released the smoke into the air, his eyes locked on hers.

"I do not know which answer is true but I do personally believe that the Valar sent you here to help with the quest, in which way I do not know. The knowledge that I see in your eyes helps to prove this. You know things; things that you should not of this world. Am I correct?" At her nod, Gandalf let out a sigh. "How long have you been in Middle Earth my dear?" Kyra turned to her book bag and pulled out her planner where she had been keeping track of her stay.

"It has been fourteen days since I've arrived here." At Gandalf's nod, she put her planner away but grabbed her history book to tear some more pages out to feed the fire. The old wizard watched her silently as she finished placing everything away.

"It seems the Valar brought you here a little early so help you get accustomed to this world, which it seems that you have been able to adjust rather well."

"My father had taught me that it was always better to be prepared for anything, especially if any type of emergency were to happen and if I found myself without help," she mumbled while looking into the fire. Gandalf nodded his understanding and did not comment on the subject of past tense when she mentioned her father, for which she was grateful for.

"Our meeting on the road today was fated from the Valar. I was informed that we would meet this day and that you would be joining us." Kyra raised her eyes from the fire to lock eyes with the wizard, her anxiety creeping back up. "We will meet our first member tomorrow if you decide to accompany me."

"If I decide to? Won't the Valar get mad if I decide not too? " he chuckled at her questions before giving a smile.

"My dear, they may have brought you here to help but the decision is still yours. However with the knowledge that you hold, only you will know if you not joining will cause more harm than good." Her eyes moved back to look into the fire as she thought of her choices and her anxiety faded away once more. They sat in comfortable silence as the sun sunk low in the sky. By the time Kyra raised her eyes from the fire to look at the Istari once more, the sun was long gone and stars twinkled above them in the night sky.

"Gandalf," she called softly. He looked at her expectantly. "I know there is a chance that this quest will fail and the line will fall." He froze at her words before sadness filled his eyes.

"Yes, there is that chance," he agreed sadly.

"I would be lying if I said I was not afraid." A small smile appeared on her face before disappearing as quickly as it appeared. "It is not death that I am afraid of Gandalf. I am afraid of failing to help with the task that the Valar has given me. However, I am here because they have chosen me so I will take this chance to make sure they do not fall if I can help it. I will join you." The sadness melted away from his eyes as they rested on the small, human woman. He bowed his head to her in acceptance and acknowledgement of her wise words. No words were further spoken as they turned in for the night.

* * *

The human and wizard were up with the sun and off down the road towards Bag End. It was about mid-day when Gandalf turned his head to look at his companion thoughtfully. Kyra quietly snacked on her last rice crispy treat, taking in her surroundings.

"Miss Summers, may I ask why your hair is green?" Snapping her attention at the wizard, she quickly chewed and swallowed her last mouthful of the gooey treat.

"It's called hair dye. Where I'm from, it's common to color your hair a different color; such as blue, purple, pink, even a variety of different colors to make a rainbow. Some also color their hair less vibrant like black or browns," she explained.

"So this dye is like the type you use for cloth but only for hair?"

"That is correct and it will eventually fade. The dye is like a type of ink though, because it can dye your skin for a bit until it finally washes out."

"Ah that makes sense." Gandalf looked thoughtful at her hair once more. "I do believe Miss Summers that we will need to find a way to remove the dye from your hair, so it does not bring unwanted attention." Kyra let out a sigh before nodding in understanding. She already knew that might be the case, considering how some of the people she met on the road and in Eriedor had acted towards the coloring. "Do not worry. We will have it all sorted out when we reach Bag End."

"Alright." Kyra could do nothing but to accept the soon to be outcome of her hair and to trust her companion. Rounding the next bend, her eyes were greeted by big round green door. A gasp escaped her as she realized they had finally reached Bag End. Kyra couldn't keep the smile from forming on her face as the duo walked up the little walk way towards the door. The hobbit always had a soft spot in her heart for his quiet courage and loyalty. She already had felt overwhelmed to have met Gandalf but now to meet Bilbo, she was excited.

* * *

 _ **Wushu -**_ is a martial art and a full-contact sport derived from traditional Chinese martial arts.

wiki/Wushu_(sport)#Short_weapons

 _ **Taiji jian sword**_ \- is a straight two-edged sword used in the training of the Chinese martial art Taijiquan. The straight sword, sometimes with a tassel and sometimes not, is used for upper body conditioning and martial training in traditional Taijiquan schools. The different family schools have various warmups, forms and fencing drills for training with the jian.

wiki/Taijijian

 _ **Nandao sword -**_ is a kind of sword that is used mostly in contemporary Chinese wushu exercises and forms. It is the southern variation of the "northern broadsword", or Beidao.

wiki/Nandao


	2. Chapter 2

Gandalf reached the door first and knocked. Kyra hung back slightly behind him, nervousness taking hold of her. Grabbing the draw strings of her hoodie, she fiddled with it as they waited for the hobbit to answer the door. She wondered if Bilbo would be different from the book. So far Gandalf proved to be the same, but a little more secretive than even the movies perceived him to be. Her thoughts were interrupted as the green door was suddenly opened and before her stood Bilbo Baggins.

He looked at Gandalf and her with surprise before it shifted to confusion. Kyra gave him a little wave and a shy smile as Gandalf introduced her before the two went off into their own world as they talked. She decided to take the opportunity to examine Bilbo. His hair was curlier than what the movies showed and his tummy was a bit plumper but overall he looked the same. Her thoughts were again interrupted when Bilbo's irritated gaze fell on her, causing her eyebrows to shoot up in surprise at his look.

"You will be staying here Miss Kyra," Gandalf stated calmly.

"What? Why? No offense Master Baggins," she quickly offered.

"It's alright Miss Summers."

"You are staying here because I must get the ingredients for the potion for your hair and I have a meeting to attend, so to speak," the wizard explained. Kyra's eyes narrowed at him before sighing. She knew he meant to gather up some of the lost dwarves. Nodding her head in consent to the handover of her person, the wizard was off down the road as the hobbit eyed her clothes and hair.

"Please come inside Miss Summers." Kyra followed the hobbit with a sigh. She felt bad for causing him unwarranted stress but there was nothing she could do and she knew that in a couple of days time, stress would become everyone's middle name during the quest. As she walked inside the hobbit hole, she noticed that every detail was exactly like she had seen and read; it relieved her somewhat.

"Can I call you Bilbo? Is that alright?" she asked as she turned to face him while he closed the door. A slight blush appeared on his cheeks before nodding in consent, which caused her to smile in return." Then call me Kyra, please."

After the introductions were over, Bilbo offered her lunch which she accepted. She never was one to turn down free food. The two talked as they ate and discussed a number of things; Kyra found herself feeling quite close to the hobbit as one would feel towards a sibling. It shocked her at first to have these thoughts since she did not know what it felt like to have a sibling but soon realized she was okay feeling this way. She had always adored the hobbit in her readings so it should come to pass that she adored him in person.

Once they were finished eating, Bilbo showed her to a spare bedroom that she could use while she was there. He bid her a quick farewell so he may attend to the dirty dishes and left her to her own devices. Letting out a sigh, she set her bags down on the bed so she could go through what she needed and what she could do without.

Taking everything out of both bags, she spread them out. She decided to keep using the book bag to carry everything but leave the duffle bag for storage at Bilbo's. She placed her left over history book, all the empty food wrappers, the empty water bottles, her now useless planner, the razer headset and dead IPod into the duffle bag. Rolling up her extra set of clothes and socks up tightly, she placed them into the large pocket of her book bag before placing her sketchbook and pencil case along with them and zipping it up. She placed her zip lock bags back into the small front pocket and the middle pocket she put the medical supplies as well as her hair brush.

There wasn't enough room for her gi and towel so she placed them in the duffle bag also. Kyra decided to keep the empty bag for her piercings in case she had to take them out again. She doubled checked her right eyebrow to make sure her three piercings were still there, then checked her industrial in her left ear and the four studded earrings; two in each ear. Satisfied that everything was in place and in order, she started to zip up everything up. Kyra stopped and bit her lip before quickly reaching into her pants pocket to remove her phone with the headphones still attached.

She quickly placed it into the duffle bag before fully zipping it up and sliding it under the bed. Hopefully Bilbo wouldn't mind her storing her stuff here until she could come back for it; if she was able too. Kyra glared at her book bag at her thought before giving herself a mental shake and placed her bag next to the door for tomorrow. The only thing left on the bed was 'The Hobbit'. A forlorn look appeared on her face as she sat on the bed while picking up the book. She was almost done reading it, but this time would be the last. Stealing her resolve, she opened the book once more and quickly lost track of time in the words of Tolkien.

* * *

The smell of fish reached Kyra in her bedroom, causing her to close her eyes and inhale deeply. Her tummy rumbled at the smell of food, so she quickly closed the book and slid it under her pillow before going to see Bilbo in the kitchen. Kyra smiled as she watched the hobbit hurry around as he cooked dinner.

"Do you need help?" she asked, causing him to jump in fright. Laughing quietly at his annoyance at being scared, she patted his shoulder in attempt to appease him. "Sorry Bilbo. Did you need help?"

"Oh it's alright Kyra. Help would be appreciated. Can you set the table?"

"Of course." She started to turn away but stopped to look back at him. "You might want to cook more than that for dinner. A whole lot more, like to feed a small army. Save some for yourself also. Trust me." With that said, she went back to the task given to her, knowing full well the look of confusion on the hobbit's face. A small smile graced her lips as Bilbo walked in and out of his pantry several times for more food. She couldn't help but feel happy that he had listened to her advice.

* * *

The two of them sat at the dining room table eating with tons of food covering the top. As they slowly ate, Bilbo eyed all the chairs surrounding the table. To his credit, he didn't question it or her at the arrangement and just ate. A pounding at the door caused him to a raise an eyebrow at her before leaving to answer it. Kyra smiled as she got up to follow but stopped mid-way down the hallway as she stood face to face with Dwalin.

"There's food ready in the dining room. Take only what's on the table and save some for everyone else. Leave the pantry alone." Kyra stated clearly and firmly to him as he eyed her. With a grunt and a nod, he moved around her towards the room she had just left from. After he entered the room, Kyra resumed walking towards Bilbo.

"You know him?" he asked in an exasperated tone, causing her to laugh at him.

"No, I don't know him however I have heard of him." At his confused look, she patted his shoulder in reassurance as there was another knock at the door. Bilbo frowned as he answered it. The hobbit started sputtering in surprise as Balin walked right in to introduce himself to both Bilbo and Kyra.

Once the introductions were done, Kyra gave the older dwarf the same speech she had given his brother. Balin nodded and thanked her before walking down the hallway to find the dining room. The younger duo could hear the older duo greet each other happily in the other room, which prompted Kyra to start heading towards them to finish her food. A third knock on the door caused her to pause and look at the door. She didn't remember the dwarves showing up this fast after each other. Bilbo opened the door as she finished turning around to watch and there stood in the doorway were the Durin brothers.

* * *

"Fili."

"Kili."

"At your service." Kyra couldn't help but stare at the two handsome dwarves. The books did not do them justice in the descriptions. The movies were close but still fell short and to see them in person, it just blew her away.

"Nope, you can't come in. You've got the wrong house!" Bilbo exclaimed while trying to close the door. Kyra giggled at his desperation as Kili stopped the door. The brother's eyes shifted to her before moving back to the hobbit.

"What? Has it been cancelled?"

"No one told us."

"Can- N-nothings been cancelled," Bilbo stuttered out.

"Well that's a relief." Kili replies as he pushed past Bilbo to get inside. Fili gave the hobbit his swords before following his younger brother. Another bout of giggles escaped Kyra at the scene, bringing the two dwarves attention back to her. Both foregoing any plans the two previously had, they rushed up to her with grins on their faces.

"And who might you be, miss?" A blush stained her cheeks as she backed up slightly in embarrassment at their sudden interest in her. The two pairs of eyes stared intently at her while she fiddled with her hoodie drawstring.

"What interesting hair color you have!"

"Don't crowd her! The two of you are being quite rude," Bilbo cried as he came to stand next to her. Kyra couldn't help but smile slightly at the hobbit for defending her. With him next to her, she didn't feel as shy.

"I'm Kyra, at your service." She gave them a shy smile as she finally gave the dwarves her name with a small bow. The brothers grinned even wider at her reply. Before they could ask any more questions, Balin came into the entrance way and told them to come eat, which they promptly left to attend to with Bilbo following to make sure they didn't anything to his house. Shaking her head at their behavior, Kyra slowly followed after them.

* * *

Halfway to the dining room, Kyra and Bilbo were stopped once more at the sound of knocking. Bilbo stomped to the door, yelling about too many dwarves in his home already and yanked it open to have a pile of dwarves to fall onto his floor. Kyra shook her head at the sight they made as Gandalf walked in. She watched as Bilbo's anger deflated at the appearance of the wizard. Gandalf nodded to him as he walked to her with a bottle in his hand.

"Here you are my dear," he said while handing her the bottle; she quickly placed it into her hoodie pocket. He slowly guided her away from the entrance of the hobbit hole, towards the dining room while explaining what the potion was for and what it would do. As they reached their destination, everyone quickly took a spot at the table.

Kyra grabbed Bilbo's sleeve to pull him to the two spots available next to Gandalf, which still had her half eaten food sitting in front of it. Once settled, the duo sat quietly as they ate while the dwarves remained rowdy. A loud belch across from the table caught her attention and when she looked to see who it was; her eyes were caught in a staring contest with two pairs of Durin blue eyes. A light blush appeared on her cheeks. The longer the trio held their gazes, the deeper her blush grew and the wider their identical smiles got.

More belching proceeded around the room, causing the trio to break their eye contact. Kyra took the chance she was given to check on Bilbo. As she turned to look at him, she was surprised to see him eating so quickly while trying to grab more food from the table. Trying not to laugh, she couldn't help feel bad for him but knew at least he got to eat dinner unlike what Tolkien had written. Feeling satisfied that he was in fact eating, she turned back to own dinner.

Conversation flowed smoothly across the table, even though there were three outsiders. The company didn't seem to mind Kyra and Bilbo since they knew Gandalf, but that didn't mean it wouldn't change once Thorin arrived. Kyra noticed Dwalin and Balin throwing her curious glances but had kept quiet. Soon everyone at the table had eaten their fill and had begun the clean up process. Bilbo remained seated while he eyeballed the dwarves as they cleaned his china and kitchen. Kyra was surprised there was no singing but figured it was because the hobbit had eaten with them and was complacent instead of yelling at them.

Bombur made sure there was still some food and a place set at the head of the table, which Kyra knew would be for Thorin. As if by sheer coincidence, a knock on the front door alerted everyone of their last guest. Bilbo moved to stand and follow them to the front door but was stopped by Kyra's hand on his shoulder. She shook her head no which caused him to sigh but he sat back down with no argument. Once he was reseated, the dwarves flooded back into the dining room.

A figure stood at the head of the table as everyone seated themselves and began talking amongst each other. Kyra remained silent even with Gandalf and Bilbo talking around her while she played with the draw strings of her hoodie. It gave her a chance to examine their leader, Thorin Oakenshield. He was very handsome; even more so in person like his nephews than they were portrayed at her home. The only slight difference was the grey hairs on top of his head. There were more than anyone was lead to believe but it did not diminish his looks in the slightest. As Kyra examined him, she did not notice him returning the favor while he ate.

"Thorin." She jumped slightly in surprise at the loudness of Gandalf's voice. "This is Kyra Summers, who will be joining us and this is Bilbo Baggins." Thorin remained silent as he scowled at both of them. His gaze settled on Bilbo first before asking him a series of questions. The more questions that were asked, the more annoyed Kyra became at Thorin's attitude. This part in Tolkien's story had always rubbed her wrong and she wasn't about to let him walk all over the hobbit.

"Enough Master Oakenshield! You don't need to drill him with questions. This is not an interrogation. He knows no weapons but he does know how to cook, which your company loved by the way and it would be helpful to Bombur." Thorin glared at her as she spoke. "He's also very light on his feet and very silent. He has one of the biggest hearts you'll ever know and loyal beyond belief. Stop judging him before you know him master dwarf. It is extremely rude."

The two sat glaring at each other as the whole company remained silent in shock and appreciation at Kyra's boldness. Gandalf looked warily between the two. Bilbo felt proud that his new friend defended him as well as shocked that she would be so loyal to him for only knowing him for a few hours. Thorin looked at the hobbit before looking back at the woman in front of him. He placed his fork down before folding his arms across his chest as he regarded her.

"And what of you, Miss Summers?" he asked in an annoyed but condescending tone, which ruffled her more. She released the draw strings from her hands while she sat up as straight as she could.

"Uncle…" Fili started up with a frown.

"Please…" Kili followed, also with a frown. Kyra and Thorin shot the two brothers a hard look before looking back at each other.

"For your information Oakenshield." Several gasps were heard at the drop of the formalities. "I'm proficient with a sword, short sword, daggers, and hand-to-hand combat. I would go further into an explanation but I highly doubt you would know the names and meanings that go with the wushu style. Also, if you must know, I am well learned. I can read and write as well as do math. As for my personal life, I am not married or engaged in any other commitments so you do not need to worry about it affecting you or yours. Anything else you would like to know?"

By the end of her speech, the sarcasm was blatantly obvious to everyone in the room. Thorin's face was unreadable as he held her gaze. Seconds passed into minutes as the two continued their standoff. There was a slight twitch on the left corner of Thorin's lips that caused Kyra to narrow her eyes further. The twitching continued for another few seconds before the dwarf started laughing. Everyone exchanged glances but didn't say a word as their leader tried to contain his laughter. Kyra crossed her arms over her chest in annoyance.

"Are you finished?" she asked him. Thorin nodded his head while wiping the tears from his eyes. Once his laughter was under control, he looked at the woman before with admiration.

"Balin, please provide these two with the contracts." Both of Kyra's eyebrows shot up in surprise as Bilbo's mouth fell open. Gandalf chuckled next to them as he smoked his pipe and he seemed content with this turn of events. The eldest dwarf handed the hobbit his copy, which he took to another room to read with Gandalf following close behind.

"Here we are Miss Summers." Balin laid out a contract in front of Kyra as he sat in Bilbo's spot at the table. Already knowing what was in the contract, she skimmed down to the part about her share amount and put in enough to help cover any cost for a funeral. She didn't see Balin's eyebrows shoot up in surprise at seeing it.

"Why such a small amount Miss Summers?" he asked softly. Kyra kept skimming through the contract and answered the elder dwarf without looking up.

"Because I have no need for it. This amount is only to cover my funeral cost if it is needed."

"Will your kin not cover it?"

"There is no one to cover it but myself, so it's alright." Silence filled the hobbit hole, except the scratching of the quill as Kyra wrote on the contract and the breathing of everyone present.

"Your parents?" Balin pressed quietly.

"Mmmm, my mother passed away from a sickness when I was a child. My father was killed in an accident when I was twelve years old. My grandparents were already gone before I was born. Neither had any siblings or family and I'm the only child so it was just us three. Then it was just me." Balin's face became sad and apologetic as he watched her read.

"You're an orphan then," he stated as a fact instead of question.

"Mmm-hmmm." While they were talking, Gandalf and Bilbo emerged from the other room they had disappeared into.

"Where did you stay? Were you alone?"

"No, I was too young to stay alone. I ended up living in a home for orphans until I was sixteen; which is when I was able to get a job and a place of my own." Kyra made a few more notes on the contract before looking up at the dwarf.

"How old are you now?" he asked gently.

"Twenty-two but you should also know that where I'm from, you are a legal adult at the age of eighteen," she answered stiffly.

"Of course Miss Summers." Balin looked slightly sheepish at her tone.

"Also please stop calling me 'Miss Summers.' I wrote it in the contract to be referred to as Kyra or Miss Kyra if it is too uncomfortable." Turning to look at Gandalf and Bilbo, Kyra asked her next question. "Would it be alright, that if in the event I die that I be buried in the Shire? It is beautiful here and I would not mind being at rest at such a place." The wizard looked forlorn as he smiled sadly and nodded his consent. The hobbit looked surprised before looking anxious and upset.

"Of course Miss Kyra. You will always be welcome here. No matter the circumstance." Kyra gave a small smile at his reply and offered a small bow in return as gratitude. Turning back to the contract, she quickly wrote down the funeral accommodations before signing her name. Balin slowly slide the contract away from her before he also signed his name. He then passed the contract to Thorin, everyone watched as he also signed his name; his expression back to being unreadable.

"Welcome to the company lass." Several murmurs of welcomes flooded the room, causing Kyra to smile shyly and offer another small bow in thanks. As everyone settled down, they all drifted off to do their own thing which prompted Kyra to ask Bilbo where his bathroom was so she could bathe. After getting the directions, she went to her room to grab her towel. Halfway to the bathroom, she suddenly stopped once she realized that did not have any pajamas for the night. She contemplated asking Bilbo but decided against it, feeling that she had inconvenienced him enough for one day.

"Are you alright Miss Kyra?" Looking over her shoulder, she spied Fili.

"Kind of. I'm without pajamas for tonight and I'm not sure what to do," she replied quietly but truthfully. A blush graced both of their cheeks, each for different reasons.

"I think I have a spare tunic you could borrow, if you'd like?" he asked shyly.

"Yes please."

"Wait right here." Fili spun on his heel before disappearing down the hall into a connected room on his left. A couple of minutes passed until he reappeared with a tunic in his hands. Taking the clothing from him, Kyra smiled gratefully at him.

"Thank you Fili. I really appreciate it." Relief had enveloped her at his kindness.

"You're quite welcome Miss Kyra." With a quick bow and smile, she preceded the rest of the way to the bathroom. The closer she got, the relief she had felt with Fili faded and the more nervous she became about using the potion the wizard had given her.

* * *

Kyra sighed as she looked in the mirror. Taking the potion jar out of her hoodie pocket, she eyed it with slight disdain. Gandalf said that it would remove 'ink' from anything but she was doubtful. Her doubts led her to let out another sigh. Quickly placing the jar onto the counter, she quickly undressed for the shower that would soon follow after using the potion.

"Let's get this over with then," She whispered to herself. Using half of the bottle, Kyra scrubbed her hair viciously while looking in the mirror with paranoid; burgundy eyes, making sure every spot was covered. Once every strand and spot on her scalp was saturated, she turned on the shower and waited until it was no longer cold before stepping inside.

Looking around the shower, she spotted Bilbo's shampoo. She hoped he wouldn't mind if she used a little bit of it. Squeezing a palm full of shampoo into her hands, she set about scrubbing and washing out the potion from her hair. As she was rinsing her hair, she looked down to notice the shower floor was completely green. Picking up a wet strand of hair from her shoulder, she could see her natural hair color perfectly.

She blinked in surprise that the potion actually worked before her hands fell to her sides as sadness consumed her. Tears came unexpectedly as the last trace of herself from her world was washed away. The water fell over the crown of her head to stream down her face to join them.

* * *

Wiggling into her underwear and the tunic that Fili had provided, Kyra took another look into the mirror. Fili's deep blue tunic fell to her mid thigh, long enough to adequately cover her butt and underwear. The opening of the tunic formed a wide V that started at her collar bone and ended in the middle of her breasts, giving a nice view of the top of her cleavage. Leather string to tie the opening closed dangled loose while she bent over to slide her socks on. Straightening, Kyra began to exam her now green-less hair.

She couldn't help but stare at her dark brown hair with her natural red highlights dancing in the light. Burgundy eyes blinked under wet bangs while a frown formed on her lips. She grabbed her towel to finish drying her head with one hand while she carried the rest of her clothes in her other. She paused to open the door before resuming her task and walking into the hallway, completely missing the voices coming her way.

"Miss Kyra?!"

"Hmmm?" Looking up from under her towel, Kyra noticed Kili and Fili both staring at her in shock. Removing her towel from her head, she looked questioningly at the two dwarves. "Yes?"

They looked at each other before looking back her. Their gazes went first to her hair, to her chest, then to her legs before going back to her hair. Raising an eyebrow at them, she cleared her throat to get their attention.

"Ah, sorry about that Miss Kyra, we did not realize it was you. Your hair is no longer green," Fili stated while trying not to look down at his tunic that she was wearing.

"And that you barely have any clothes on," Kili squeaked out with a blush on his face. His eyes following a small water drop that rolled down her throat to fall between her breasts. Kyra raised both eyebrows at their comments and looked down at herself before looking back at them.

"I'm adequately dressed I think. There are dresses like this where I come from. It is very popular."

"You're serious?" they asked together. At Kyra's nod, the brothers equally became red in the face. Shaking her head at their embarrassment, Kyra turned on her heel and walked off to her room. Unknown to her, the Durin brothers eyes were locked on to her naked legs until she disappeared into her room with a click of the closing door.

Kyra sat quietly on the floor of her borrowed bedroom, listening to the fire crackle in front her as she ran her fingers over the cover of 'The Hobbit'. She had finished re-reading the story and knew it was time to destroy it. As she sat lost in her thoughts, the company of dwarves started singing in the living room. Their sorrow-filled song reached her, bringing her back to her surroundings. Letting out a shaky breath, Kyra quickly tossed the book into the fire. For the second time that night, tears filled her eyes.

Brushing away the start of the tears with the back of her hand, she stood up from the floor to climb into bed. She positioned herself so she could watch the fire and her beloved book burn. As she lay snuggled into the pillow and blankets, she let her tears flow freely as the book became no more than a pile of ash. The scent of Fili's tunic and the fire drifting into her nose combined with the singing of the dwarves, she fell into a deep sleep; the stain of tears still evident on her cheeks.


	3. update

_Hey guys. Sorry for the late update/information on this chapter. My mom had passed away a couple of weeks ago and with Christmas finally being over, it just was not the time to post anything. I also was not feeling up to writing. I will have some thing up soon. Thank you for understanding._

 _Hope your holidays were great and have a Happy New Year._

 _Thank you for reading, the reviews, and adding this story to your favorite list._

 _Love,_

 _Coldheartedshiva_


	4. Chapter 3

Kyra woke to the beginning of the sunrise as small streams of sunlight came through the window. She rolled onto her back and stretched before getting up. She wanted to do her morning kata routine before everyone left this morning. Quickly sliding out Fili's tunic, she pulled on her cargo pants before sliding on her sports bra and tank top. Once clothed, she put on her socks and boots. She folded Fili's tunic and placed it inside her book bag to give back later before slinging it over her shoulder and grabbing her hoodie.

After making a quick stop in the bathroom to wash her face and braid her waist length hair, she headed outside to find a spot to do her kata. Kyra placed her bag and hoodie next to Bilbo's fence so she could grab it easily and moved to a nice flat piece of grass by the road. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. Opening her eyes, she slowly let it out and she began her stretches. Gandalf walked past as he left to get all the ponies and his horse. They nodded in greeting to each other before going back to their current tasks.

Finishing her last stretch, Kyra smoothly slid into her kata routine. The morning air filled her lungs as she breathed. The light breeze causing goose bumps to form on her bare arms as she moved and when she twirled, she missed the dwarves emerging from the hobbit hole. They all remained silent as they watched her move. Her movements seemed like a dance to them as the sun showed her tanned skin from being outside quite often. They were impressed with how stealthy her steps were and how fluid her movements looked. Even Thorin and Dwalin looked appeased by her routine.

As Kyra's kata was about to end, Gandalf came down the road with the ponies. He stopped in front of the hobbit hole, prompting the dwarves to quickly set about getting everything ready. Kyra grabbed her hoodie from the fence and slid it on but before she could grab her bag, another hand grabbed it. She blinked owlishly at the now missing bag and looked up at the mischievous faces of the Durin brothers.

"Sorry Miss Kyra, but we got to put your bag with the rest," Kili stated while he smirked at her.

"We also must get you situated with which pony you are to ride," Fili said as he gently took her right arm in his hand and guided her towards the ponies with Kili on her left. Kyra followed silently while continuing to blink owlishly at everyone. Several of the dwarves chuckled at her predicament but otherwise did not intervene. Kili tied her bag onto one of the rider less ponies before following his brother's example and climbing onto their respective rides. She stared up at the two of them and placed her hands onto her hips. At times like this, she cursed her natural height of four feet and eleven inches.

"Wait! Kyra! Don't go yet!" Everyone turned to see Bilbo running down his yard towards Kyra. He looked at Thorin with slight fear on his face for stopping them before focusing back at the woman in front of him. He quickly came to a stop when he was close enough and started to wring his hands together as he fretted.

"Bilbo?" Kyra asked as she cocked her head slightly to the side. Worry showed clearly on his face, replacing the fear he once had.

"Must you go with them?" Her face softened at his words and that he cared for her in his own way.

"Yes Bilbo, I must go." The whole company was silent as the two friends exchanged words.

"Is-is it because you signed the contract?" Kyra smiled at his question and shook her head.

"I choose to go because it's my choice as it is yours. It is the right thing to do. You could come with us."

"No no. I don't think I am the one you're looking for." He shook his head back and forth while looking at the ground. His denial caused Kyra's smile to drop a little as she covered both of his wringing hands in both of hers.

"You are." She told him gently. Bilbo raised his eyes to meet hers. "Courage is _not_ the absence of fear, but the _triumph_ over it."

The hobbit's eyes widened at her words as she squeezed his hands before letting go. Kyra turned and took Kili's offered hand to help her climb up behind him. Thorin called for the company to move out as she situated herself. Once she was settled, Kili moved their pony into motion, causing Kyra to quickly look at Bilbo to give him one last smile; their eyes locking on one another. Their gaze didn't break until the company was around the bend and the hobbit hole no longer in sight.

* * *

Everyone had been silent for the past twenty minutes after leaving Bilbo's house. No one felt the need to speak as Kyra's words floated through all their thoughts. Fili and Kili exchanged looks with each other as they kept glancing at the only woman in the company, worry evident on their faces at her silence. Kyra was plastered to Kili's back with her face buried in his hair and the top of his shoulder while her arms were wrapped firmly around his waist; not enough to squeeze him but enough to keep her steady. She couldn't help but mentally beat herself up at her words to Bilbo.

She should of have tried harder. What if her words changed his mind into staying instead of coming? Things were already slightly different from home. _I think I just made it worse…._ at her thought, she unconsciously squeezed Kili. Her mind suddenly went blank at the feel of another hand on top of hers. The other hand squeezed hers gently, causing her to raise her head to peek over Kili's shoulder. Her eyes caught his and she noticed the worry in his eyes.

Kyra gave him a small smile as Fili's pony pulled up close to them. Once he was riding alongside them, he reached out with his hand to caress her arm in comfort and worry. Kyra's eyes softened at the brother's worry and offered Fili the same smile she had offered Kili. She felt bad for making them worry about her so early in the quest but sometimes self-doubt would find its way into her mind. As her smile fell, she buried her face back into Kili's shoulder, not wanting the brothers to see her doubts swirling in her eyes. A few minutes later, her eyes shot open as she heard shouting coming from behind them.

Everyone stopped their ponies to look back to see Bilbo running towards them with his pack and two bedrolls on his back with the contract trailing behind him. All of Kyra's doubts left as a wide smile appeared on her face at the sight of the hobbit. Her eyes found Fili and Kili's, causing her smile to grow bigger. They returned her smile before all three turned their attention to Bilbo and Balin.

"Everything seems to be in order. Welcome, Mister Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield," Balin declared as he rolled up the contract.

"Give him a pony," Thorin called out before moving his own pony forward.

The rest of the company moved to follow him while Kili and Fili came up behind him to put him on one of the ponies that was being used for supplies. The hobbit sputtered in surprise and embarrassment at being picked up so easily by the two dwarves. His expression soon changed to dislike as he tried to adjust to being on the pony. Kyra openly chuckled at his expression as her and Kili's pony rode alongside his. Bilbo glanced at her and rolled his eyes but offered her a small smile at her happiness. His grip on the reins was steady but gentle as he didn't seem to know what to do with them but hold them like everyone else.

"You okay there Bilbo?" she asked as she watched him eyeball the pony he was on.

"I do not know what to do with these, I'm afraid," he replied while motioning to the reins with his head. Gandalf rode up on his other side as he talked.

"My dear Bilbo, it's for directing and commanding," the wizard supplied. Bilbo nodded in response as a look of understanding appeared on his face. Jingling pouches were being tossed through the air, catching the trios attention. Bilbo threw Gandalf a questioning look just as a look of realization appeared on Kyra's. "They took wagers on whether or not you'd turn up. Several of them bet you wouldn't."

"And what did you think?" Bilbo asked with a slight edge to his voice. Gandalf's hand suddenly shot up into the air to catch a pouch of coins, soon followed by Kili and Fili also receiving pouches.

"My dear fellow, I never doubted you for a second." Bilbo seemed satisfied with the wizard's answer before turning to Kyra with an expectant look on his face.

"She never placed a bet Mister Baggins," Kili quickly piped up in front of her.

"Aye. She never got the chance. She seemed to be in deep thought for most of the ride since leaving the Shire," Fili explained further as he slowed down to match pace with his brother's pony. Kyra blushed in embarrassment at the brothers words but did not deny what they had said because it was true that she had zoned out for a bit. Bilbo looked relieved that he didn't have to worry about her doubting him and seemed content to end the conversation where it was until he began to sneeze.

"All this horse hair… I'm having a reaction." He began to search frantically in his pockets while those closest to him watched in amusement. Kyra frowned at him before realizing he had forgotten his handkerchief.

"Bilbo.." she started but was interrupted by said hobbit.

"Wait, wait. Stop. Stop! We have to turn around!" As the company was slowing back down, everyone was looking at Bilbo with confused and questioning looks.

"Bilbo forgot his handkerchief!" Kyra exclaimed from behind Kili. Her head barely peeking out over his shoulder. As she expected, Bofur gave him a piece of ripped cloth while the company picked up their speed. She giggled at the disgusted look that had formed on the hobbit's face at the makeshift handkerchief. Sometime later, Bilbo turned to look at Kyra with a calculating look.

"Kyra."

"Hmmm?" Kyra turned her attention away from the scenery to look at Bilbo.

"I brought an extra bedroll for you. I did not see one on your bag so I thought you might have use for one."

"Thank you Bilbo! I appreciate it. That was very thoughtful of you." Bilbo blushed at her thanks before coming serious once more.

"What you said earlier, about fear and courage. Is that something you learned from your home?" he asked.

"Mmmm, yes and no. It is a saying that many who do wushu use. However, I did not learn it from wushu to begin with. My mother, who was a wushu master would say it to me every night before I went to bed, as far as I can remember. After she passed away, my father had continued where she left off," Kyra explained. He remained silent as he thought over her words.

"Does it bother you to use the saying?" Fili asked from her other side. Unknown to the small, chattering group, the rest of the company was listening intently to their conversation.

"No. It does not bother me." she looked thoughtful for a second before continuing on. "It is something that I cherish since I learned it from both of my parents. It isn't a material item, so I can't lose it or have it taken away from me. It will be in my memory and forever engraved in my heart."

Kili placed his hand back over hers, giving it a small squeeze as if to reassure her as well as comfort her. She felt Fili caress her arm like he had done earlier. Their actions caused her to smile a little before she focused her attention back on the hobbit as he began to speak.

"I think it is a nice saying. It helped me get out of my door." The two friends shared a smile with each other.

"That it did indeed," Gandalf chimed in happily as he lit his pipe. A few hours later, the company was well outside of the Shire, causing everyone to be more alert. Fili and Kili kept their ponies at the end of the company to keep watch on everyone's back, which allowed Gandalf and Bilbo to move more towards the middle of the group. Kyra didn't seem to mind that they had moved away as she seemed to be content in the comfortable silence that had formed between her and the Durin brothers.

* * *

The fire crackled and quiet murmurs could be heard throughout the small clearing. This was the first night out on the road and the day had been long. Kyra watched the company with bored eyes as she lounged on her bedroll. Everyone was in their own little groups while she was alone at the edge of camp. It would be a lie if she said it didn't really bother her too much since she never really had friends except for the martial arts club, not even in the group home. Fili and Kili were off talking to their uncle on the other side of the clearing. Even Bilbo was in a deep conversation with Gandalf far from her; but in the end, it did bother her a little.

With a tired sigh, she grabbed her earphones and phone out of her pants pocket. Placing them in her ears, she hoped to drown out the murmurs of the group. Looking through the playlists, she selected the movie list and pressed play. The list ranged from Disney movies to tv shows like Supernatural. As music filled her ears, Kyra glanced up to see if anyone had noticed her movements but everyone was still in their own little world.

Giving herself a small nod, she laid completely on her back so she could stare up at the stars. It never seemed to get old, staring up at the twinkling lights in the night sky. She hummed softly to the music as her mind drifted away. She completely forgot about the roughness of the day as her body relaxed. Even though she had spent the whole day with the company and most of it with the Durin brothers, but she still had slight feelings of unwelcomeness from the company. Her mind slowly went blank as it seemed to melt into the music.

The songs switched to one of her favorite Disney songs from the movie Brave called "Touch the Sky". It always filled her heart with a sense of peace and determination. As the song played, she softly sang along with it; her soft voice raising in volume without her knowledge due to her earphones.

 _When the cold wind's a-calling_

 _And the sky is clear and bright_

 _Misty mountains sing and beckon,_

 _Lead me out into the light_

 _I will ride, I will fly_

 _Chase the wind and touch the sky_

 _I will fly_

 _Chase the wind and touch the sky_

 _Where dark woods hide secrets_

 _And mountains are fierce and bold_

 _Deep waters hold reflections_

 _Of times lost long ago_

 _I will hear their every story_

 _Take hold of my own dream_

 _Be as strong as the seas are stormy_

 _And proud as an eagle's scream_

 _I will ride, I will fly_

 _Chase the wind and touch the sky_

 _I will fly_

 _Chase the wind and touch the sky_

 _And touch the sky_

 _Chase the wind, chase the wind_

 _Touch the sky_

Kyra became quiet as the last notes of the song ended. She let out a sigh as she raised her right hand towards the sky. With her index finger, she traced patterns while using the stars as dots to connect them together. The next song that came on was the ballad version of "Carry on Wayward Son" that was performed on Supernatural. The song was old but a good one.

The song being performed as a play and sung as a ballad in the show seemed to strike an even deeper meaning to it then the original song had. At least to her it did. Her soft voice joined in with the girls singing in the song.

 _Carry on my wayward son_

 _There'll be peace when you are done_

 _Lay your weary head to rest_

 _Don't you cry no more_

 _Once I rose above the noise and confusion_

 _Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion_

 _I was soaring ever higher, but I flew too high_

 _Masquerading as a man with a reason_

 _My charade is the event of the season_

 _And if I claim to be a wise man_

 _It surely means that I don't know_

 _Carry on my wayward son_

 _There'll be peace when you are done_

 _Lay your weary head to rest_

 _Don't you cry no more,_

 _Carry on._

Her heart clenched at the emotion that the song brought on. Dropping her hand from the sky, she quickly rolled over onto her side with her back towards the clearing as sleep finally claimed her tired body and mind. Unknowingly to her, the whole company was watching her with a mixture of emotions. Some with tenderness, some with sadness, and one with deep understanding. Soon everyone except the two on watch joined the human woman in the land of slumber.

* * *

Kyra woke just as the sun was beginning to peak through the trees. With a tired sigh, she climbed out of her bedroll and packed all of her gear before starting her morning stretches. The camp was slowly waking as she did her routine. By the time she finished, everyone was fully awake and finishing cleaning up the campsite. Today, Kyra would be riding with Fili since she rode with Kili the day before. They seemed to come to an agreement between them that she would alternate riding with them so they both got equal amount of time with her.

They were headed to Bree for a quick stop before truly heading out on the road. They needed to restock their supplies and get extra things like smoke for their pipes. Bree was about an hour away so the conversion in the group was getting livelier as their excitement grew. Kyra was starting to feel drowsy with the warm sun on her back and with the steady rhythm of the horse, her eyes began to droop. She re-secured her arms around Fili's waist before laying her head in the middle of his back, her face turned towards Kili.

She gave Kili a lazy smile just as she felt Fili put one of his hands on top of hers. Kili returned her smile with one of his own while his face held a soft expression as he watched her fall asleep. Once she was fully asleep, he moved his pony closer to his brother's to brush her bangs out of her eyes.

* * *

The company decided on their groups and split up to get what they needed. Ori and Bilbo paired up since both wanted to go to the bookshop while Ori's brothers went to a different shop. Gandalf went with Thorin, Balin, and Dwalin to discuss their next course of action. Fili and Kili went to the weapons shop while Kyra walked around with Bofur, since neither had wanted to buy anything. After about twenty minutes of walking, Kyra examined her fellow companion as they walked. Bofur noticed her examination and just tilted his head to the side while he watched her in return. When she looked to be done with a small nod of her head, he leaned towards her with a smirk.

"See something you like lass?" he asked. He wiggled his eyebrows at her to emphasis his words. She blushed at his implication and quickly shook her head no.

"N-no! I was just looking at your clothes. Your hat is also very interesting. How does it stay curled like that?" she explained as fast as she could. Bofur's smirk transformed into a grin as Kyra began fiddling with her hoodie drawstring.

Right as he was about to answer her question, shouting could be heard from the direction of the Prancing Pony. They exchanged worried looks with each other before heading towards the small crowd that was forming. They were able to spot a frightened Ori holding his bag to his chest with Bilbo standing defensively in front of him. Confronting their two companions were seven human men. Kyra and Bofur quickly pushed their way to their fellow companions. Upon reaching them, Bofur comforted Ori while Kyra stood protectively in front of them. Bilbo blinked in surprise at their sudden appearance before relief flooded his body.

"Kyra, Bofur. Thank goodness you're here," the hobbit exclaimed.

"What's going on?" Kyra asked as she eyed the men in front of her and their aggressive stances.

"T-they wanted my bag. Said we must have some dwarven gold in it, but it's only my journal and ink! They didn't believe me," Ori quietly explained. His expression clearly showed he was upset about the current situation.

"And when Ori wouldn't hand over the bag, they threatened us so we tried to run to the inn to see if we could find the rest of the company for help, but we obviously didn't get very far," Bilbo finished explaining. He looked at the men in disdain.

"It's alright lad," Bofur spoke up. "You two did the right thing."

"He's right. Now, I want the three of you to go find Gandalf and Thorin. I'll stay here with them, to make sure they don't follow." The trio stared at Kyra in shock.

"B-but Miss Kyra," Ori started but was silenced by the cold look she gave him.

"Go. Now."

"Come on lads," Bofur quickly ushered them away, making the human men to get even angrier.

"Wait! Stop!" One shouted as he moved to follow. Kyra moved to stand in front of him, causing him to stop and direct his anger towards her instead. "What do you think you're doing woman?"

"Yeah wench. You protecting that dwarf scum?" another sneered as he moved to stand close to her. Kyra returned his angry look with a hard, cold stare of her own.

"And what if I am?" she answered his question with question of her own. Her eyes remained on the one man in her personal space as the rest slowly formed a semi-circle around her. Kyra's right hand twitched at her side as she remembered that her swords were on Fili's pony. Also at times like this, she hated her natural height of four foot and eleven inches.

"Then we have a problem, dwarf loving bitch."

Movement out of both of her peripherals caused her to drop any pretense of formalities as she blocked two attacks directed at her. She dropped to a crouch and back rolled away from the group, causing her two attackers to lose balance and stumble into each other. They shoved at each other to straighten themselves before switching their attention back onto her. Kyra was already standing and waiting for them, sizing each of them up. Familiar voices could be heard shouting around them.

"Miss Kyra!" The many voices of the company called out to her but she refused to acknowledge them for she was focused on the matter at hand. Behind the others, stood Thorin and Gandalf, who were flanked by Balin, Dwalin, Bofur, Ori, and Bilbo. The small group did not speak, each holding a variety of expressions on their faces.

"Kyra!" called Fili and Kili from behind her. Knowing they would want to help, she threw up her right hand to signal them to stop. They froze in their spots before looking at their uncle. Thorin noticed their worried looks but shook his head no before looking back to the scene in front of them. The Durin brothers frowned at the fact they were not allowed to help but remained silent as they followed their uncles lead.

Instead of putting her hand down from signaling the brothers, Kyra moved her whole body into a defensive stance. Wushu was meant for defense, so Kyra would not take the lives of these men but she would incapacitate them if she had too. The human men laughed at her stance while they circled her; completely forgetting that the dwarves were their original target. The supposed leader rushed her with a raised fist, ready to punch her. She easily caught his hand in both of hers before using two quick moves to break his wrist.

She let go of as he stumbled back with a scream while he cradled his hand. The rest of his group stared dumbfounded at what happened in front of them. He yelled at them to attack, making them regain focus; they all rushed the small woman. Punches were thrown and easily blocked. One man swung his leg towards Kyra's chest. However, she caught it and raised her elbow before dropping with full force onto the joint of his hip; successfully dislocating his leg from his pelvis.

As he laid on the ground, unconscious, the man with the broken wrist dragged him away. Kyra refocused on the last remaining five men. They had become wary of her but didn't want to back down so they continued their assault. The company watched on the sidelines as she broke another man's nose and arm. Fili and Kili stood tense when Kyra was grabbed from behind; their breathing stopped as she struggled when another man ran towards her with a knife. They were scared for the woman who had captured their attention.

Kyra glared at the man that held the knife as she threw her head back into the man's face that held her. She heard a satisfying crunch as his nose broke. The pain caused him to loosen his hold, allowing her to grab one of his arms and flip him over her shoulder into the man rushing them. The duo fell to the ground in pain and tangled limbs but they didn't try to get up. Kyra took a slow breath before turning to face her last opponent. The last man standing slowly backed away from the small woman. Her calmness in battle had unnerved him as well as how she easily took out his comrades.

They silently stared at each; the company was getting anxious the longer the stare down went. They were curious as to why she was just standing there, no longer fighting stance. Was she tired? The company exchanged looks with each other but four pairs of eyes never strayed from her form. Kyra suddenly lunged forward with one leg, making a majority of everyone jump in surprise. Still looking the human man in the eyes, she quietly spoke one word.

"Run." A wet spot started to form on his pants before he turned and ran off somewhere further into Bree, leaving his companions behind. The injured men slowly helped each other up and walked away, not even bothering to look back. Kyra straightened her body as she watched the backs of the men disappear.

"K-Kyra. That was amazing!" Bilbo suddenly gushed out, breaking the silence. Several murmurs of agreement followed, making her look at all of them in surprise. A blush formed on her cheeks as she started to mess with her drawstring. Thorin walked up to her, causing her hands to pause.

Placing one hand on her shoulder, his face stern as he looked at her; her body became tense under his stare.

"You did well Miss Kyra." relief quickly flooded her body at the dwarf's words, even when he let go of her and addressed the company. "We must depart quickly. Everyone to the ponies." Everyone rushed towards the ponies at Thorin's words. Once the company had secured their purchases with their belongings, they quickly left Bree behind.

* * *

A couple hours later, the company found a clearing to have lunch. Kyra was walking around the camp, trying to help setup but was being hindered by two lion cubs following her. Several of the older dwarves chuckled as Fili and Kili stayed glued to the woman. Even Thorin seemed amused at their attachment. As Kyra was about to leave the clearing to get some water for Bombur, she noticed the Durin brothers were still following her. With an irritated sigh, she suddenly stopped, making the duo collide into her. They stumbled back to regain their footing while she turned around to face them.

"What are you two doing?"

"We're walking with you," Kili answered.

"Why?" Annoyance was clearly written in her stance and tone of voice. The brothers looked at each other nervously.

"We just wanted to make sure you're okay, you know, since everything that happened at Bree." Kyra raised her eyebrow at Fili's answer.

"As you two can see, I'm perfectly fine. You two saw that I can handle myself and I'm not injured. So please, give me some space."

"B-but.." Kili was interrupted as Balin joined them.

"She's right lads. Let Miss Kyra get the water. Your uncle wishes to speak with the both of you." Fili and Kili frowned at his words but followed him quietly while Kyra turned on her heel back towards her original destination. It wasn't long until she reached the stream and her irritation had calmed.

She understood that they were worried but she didn't understand is why. What she had told them was true. She could handle herself and she wasn't even injured. Their worry annoyed her but she couldn't help feel touched by it since no one had properly worried about her since her dad passed. Kyra sighed as she made her way back to the camp with her baggage, knowing she couldn't stay annoyed at the two cubs. Her lips quirked into a small smile at her thought at the new nicknames for them, cubs.

Walking quickly to Bombur, she gave him the pot full of water. Now she was free to do as she wished until lunch was ready. Noticing that the cubs were talking with their uncle, she decided to draw the family scene. Grabbing her pencils and sketchbook from her book bag, she found a tree trunk to lean against that gave her a nice view of the trio. Putting her earbuds in, she selected a song on her phone and started drawing. A couple of songs played until one of her favorites came on and she couldn't help but sing along.

 _You're alone, you're on your own, so what?_

 _Have you gone blind?_

 _Have you forgotten what you have and what is yours?_

 _Glass half empty, glass half full_

 _Well either way you won't be going thirsty_

 _Count your blessings not your flaws_

 _You've got it all_

 _You lost your mind in the sound_

 _There's so much more_

 _You can reclaim your crown_

 _You're in control_

 _Rid of the monsters inside your head_

 _Put all your faults to bed_

 _You can be king again_

Everyone glanced at Kyra as she sang but did nothing to disturb her. She was so focused on her drawing that she didn't even notice looks she was getting from anyone.

 _You don't get what all this is about_

 _You're too wrapped up in yourself doubt_

 _You've got that young blood, set it free_

 _You've got it all_

 _You lost your mind in the sound_

 _There's so much more_

 _You can reclaim your crown_

 _You're in control_

 _Rid of the monsters inside your head_

 _Put all your faults to bed_

 _You can be king_

 _There's method in my madness_

 _There's no logic in your sadness_

 _You don't gain a single thing from misery_

 _Take it from me_

Gandalf and Bilbo quietly smoked their pipes while they watched the clouds go by, the song further relaxing them. Thorin's shoulder stiffened at the words but relaxed not to long after as the meaning of the song became clear to him.

 _You've got it all_

 _You lost your mind in the sound_

 _There's so much more_

 _You can reclaim your crown_

 _You're in control_

 _Rid of the monsters inside your head_

 _Put all your faults to bed_

 _You can be king_

 _You've got it all_

 _You lost your mind in the sound_

 _There's so much more_

 _You can reclaim your crown_

 _You're in control_

 _Rid of the monsters inside your head_

 _Put all your faults to bed_

 _You can be king again_

As the song was finishing, Kyra was putting the finishing touches on her drawing. She couldn't help but smile at the three Durin faces staring up at her from the paper. A large shadow covered her and blocked the sunlight, making her look up to see the same three faces on the paper standing in front of her. She hastily removed her earbuds to look at the Durin's with confusion.

"Lunch is ready." Thorin said before offering his hand to her. Blinking in surprise at the gesture, Kyra closed her sketchbook and smiled up at him. Taking his hand, he helped her up and the small group of four joined the rest of the company to eat.

* * *

"Kyra! Come here!" Kili called to Kyra while waving his left arm wildly. She raised her eyebrow at his excitement while heading over to where him and his brother stood by a tree at the edge of camp.

"Yeeeeeeeeesss?" she asked. The brother's exchanged a look before looking at her with identical looks that metaphorically spelled trouble.

"Can we listen to your music device while we wait for dinner?" responded Fili.

"Why do you guys want to listen to it?"

"Because every time you put those things in your ears, you sings such songs. We just wanted to see what it see and hear it for ourselves." Fili explained with a smirk. Kyra just raised her eyebrow at them.

"Really now?" she asked as crossed her arms over her chest. Kili nodded with a bright smile.

"Please Ky? We just want to listen to at least one song!" He then proceeded to give her his best puppy dog eyes. Kyra let her head fall back and groaned in frustration.

"Ky?"

"Yes. We have decided you will be nicknamed Ky." Both brothers looked proud of their name for her so she decided not to press the matter of the name and focused on their request for her phone.

"Fine, but you better not break it. You understand?" Once they both nodded in agreement, she produced her phone and the attached earbuds. Instructing them to sit next to each other against the tree and then showed them how the earbuds went into their ears but explained that since they were going to share the phone, they both got one earbud each so they could listen at the same time. They didn't seem to mind so they moved onto how they were supposed to navigate through the playlists.

Once it seemed that they were able to handle it on their own, Kyra left them to seek out Gandalf. The brothers took turns picking songs. Some they liked, some they couldn't understand how it was even considered music. It was Fili's turn to pick and clicked on titled 'Amazed' by Lonestar. They expected it to be another upbeat happy tune like most of the songs they had heard but they were both surprised to learn it was a slow love song.

 _Every time our eyes meet_

 _This feeling inside me_

 _Is almost more than I can take_

 _Baby, when you touch me_

 _I can feel how much you love me_

 _And it just blows me away_

 _I've never been this close to anyone or anything_

 _I can hear your thoughts, I can see your dreams_

As the words flowed through them, they let their eyes wander to only woman in the company. They watched as she laughed happily with Bilbo, Bombur and Bofur. How she smiled brightly at Ori as he walked over to her to show her another drawing that he just completed. Both of their hearts clenched at her smile, causing them to smile at her happiness.

 _I don't know how you do what you do_

 _I'm so in love with you_

 _It just keeps getting better_

 _I want to spend the rest of my life with you by my side_

 _Forever and ever_

 _Every little thing that you do_

 _Baby, I'm amazed by you_

 _The smell of your skin_

 _The taste of your kiss_

 _The way you whisper in the dark_

 _Your hair all around me_

 _Baby, you surround me_

 _Touch every place in my heart_

 _And it feels like the first time every time_

 _I want to spend the whole night in your eyes_

 _I don't know how you do what you do_

 _I'm so in love with you_

 _It just keeps getting better_

 _I want to spend the rest of my life with you by my side_

 _Forever and ever_

 _Every little thing that you do_

 _Baby, I'm amazed by you_

 _Every little thing that you do_

 _I'm so in love with you_

 _It just keeps getting better_

 _I want to spend the rest of my life with you by my side_

 _Forever and ever_

 _Every little thing that you do, oh_

 _Every little thing that you do_

 _Baby, I'm amazed by you_

As the song ended, they both removed the earbuds from their ears and looked at each other.

"I think that song helped answer our question, don't you think Kee?"

"I think so Fee." The brothers turned their attention back to the clearing as Kyra's laughter reached them. Bofur was telling another story as his arms were waving in the air. The company soon joined Kyra in laughter. Fili and Kili both smiled as everyone seemed to finally be a little more comfortable with one another.

* * *

 **YouTube**

You can be king again by youlazybum


	5. Chapter 4

**_CHAPTER IS COMPLETE!_**

* * *

Kyra silently stared at the scenery in front of her. The sounds of the birds chirping, the voices of the company behind, the breeze through the trees brought her a sense of peace. She closed her eyes while inhaling deeply through her nose before releasing it through her mouth. The smell of the forest, the smoke from the pipes and fire filled her lungs. A smile graced her lips while she opened her eyes. Picking up one of her sketch pencils and started to draw.

She soon became completely engrossed in her task that she missed the cubs coming to sit behind her. They remained silent as not to disturb her. Fili and Kili watched the sure strokes of her pencil as the view of the forest came to life on the paper. Minutes passed by, soon becoming hours. Bilbo walked towards the trio with their bowls of food. Seeing them being quiet, he chose to follow the brothers example of not talking as he handed them their food.

Kili took Kyra's bowl from Bilbo with a nod of thanks. The hobbit offered a small smile and a nod in return before going to the fire to eat his own supper. The sun continued its slow descent as Kyra continued to draw with her cubs watching.

* * *

A sigh escaped Kyra's mouth as she completed her drawing. Sitting up straight, she was able to rotate her shoulders to loosen the tight muscles before placing her sketch book next to her on the ground and putting away her pencils. She stretched her arms over head, causing several pops to be heard along her back and neck; A soft whine was emitted from her as she let her arms drop lifeless down to her sides. Looking up at the clear night sky, Kyra started to leaned backwards to lay on the cool grass, but was suddenly stopped by a solid object.

Turning to look behind her, she saw tan clothing. A couple of minutes passed while she tried to remember where she has seen it from. A chuckle sounded behind her head, sending vibrations against her back. Kyra let out a squeak in realization that she was leaning against Fili and tried to roll ot her side to get off of him to the grass. However her plan was foiled when he brought his arms up to ensnare her firmly back to his chest.

Another chuckle came from her left, causing her to jerk her head to see Kili scooting closer to them while holding a bowl and spoon. Confusion covered her face as the brothers held her captive.

"What's going on?" FIli let out another chuckle as he laid his chin on top of her head.

"You need to eat," Kili explained while filling the spoon with stew.

"Huh? It's not even dinner time," she argued, causing Kili to roll his eyes and Fili to let out a huff into her hair.

"Dinner was hours ago Ky," the elder brother explained while tightening his hold on her. Kyra frowned at the information and looked back up at the sky, making her lean further back into the dwarf's embrace. Her frown grew deeper, realizing the brothers were right as the last bit of sunlight disappeared behind the trees.

"Now open." Kyra's head shot towards Kili, who was holding the spoon ready for her to eat like a parent would feed their toddler. Her frown smoothing into a pout and puppy dog eyes.

"I can feed myself…."

"Indulge us," they answered in usion. Her pout remained as she complied and opened her mouth to be fed the stew. Kili smiled brightly at her acceptance. Fili chuckled once more, giving her a gentle nuzzle with his chin. She placed her hands on top of his in response; relaxing further into his chest, making both Durin's eyes twinkle in happiness.

* * *

Laughter and the smell of food woke Kyra from her slumber. Rubbing her eyes, she tried to sit up but was stopped. Looking to her left, she saw her braid being held captive by Kili while he continued to sleep. To her right, Fili slept with his hand curled around her sleeve. She rolled her eyes in annoyance at being held hostage by the brothers but also by the fact she couldn't remember how she got into this situation. She gently pried herself from the brothers before carefully climbing out from between them and their makeshift bed.

She grabbed her brush, hair bands, and phone to walk a little ways away from the company to have a moment to herself so she could do her hair. Unknown to her, the moment she left, the brothers woke due to the missing warmth. Kyra slowly undid her braid, letting the hair fall gently along her back in waves that reached her lower back. Once she was done, she put her earbuds in with a sigh at seeing her phone at five percent battery life. She was sad it was about to die but knew it did a good job of entertaining her and the company on their travels. As the music started to play, Kyra slowly brushed her hair of any tangles.

 _I'm not a stranger to the dark_

 _Hide away, they say_

 _'Cause we don't want your broken parts_

 _I've learned to be ashamed of all my scars_

 _Run away, they say_

 _No one will love you as you are_

Placing the brush down, Kyra carefully divided her hair into four sections including along her scalp. The company's laughter quieted down as it usually did once she started singing; as usual she was oblivious to the attention.

 _But I won't let them break me down to dust_

 _I know that there's a place for us_

 _For we are glorious_

 _When the sharpest words wanna cut me down_

 _I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out_

 _I am brave, I am bruised_

 _I am who I'm meant to be, this is me_

 _Look out 'cause here I come_

 _And I'm marching on to the beat I drum_

 _I'm not scared to be seen_

 _I make no apologies, this is me_

With quick and precise fingers, Kyra french braided each section to the back of her head, stopping about two inches from the nape of her neck. Once each section was tied off, she gathered each section into one ponytail and securing it.

 _Another round of bullets hits my skin_

 _Well, fire away 'cause today, I won't let the shame sink in_

 _We are bursting through the barricades_

 _And reaching for the sun (we are warriors)_

 _Yeah, that's what we've become_

 _Won't let them break me down to dust_

 _I know that there's a place for us_

 _For we are glorious_

 _When the sharpest words wanna cut me down_

 _Gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out_

 _I am brave, I am bruised_

 _I am who I'm meant to be, this is me_

 _Look out 'cause here I come_

 _And I'm marching on to the beat I drum_

 _I'm not scared to be seen_

 _I make no apologies, this is me_

 _...This is me_

After rebrushing her ponytail to get rid of any more tangles, she moved to fix her bangs over her forehead trying to make sure her scar was covered.

 _And I know that I deserve your love_

 _There's nothing I'm not worthy of_

 _When the sharpest words wanna cut me down_

 _I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out_

 _This is brave, this is bruised_

 _This is who I'm meant to be, this is me_

 _Look out 'cause here I come (look out 'cause here I come)_

 _And I'm marching on to the beat I drum (marching on, marching, marching on)_

 _I'm not scared to be seen_

 _I make no apologies, this is me_

 _(Whenever the words wanna cut me down_

 _I'll send the flood to drown them out)_

 _This is me_

The song ended while she reached towards the sky in a stretch. Several pops could be heard along her spine and shoulders. With a relieved sigh, Kyra gathered all her stuff up and turned off her phone before heading back towards her bag. Seeing her cubs awake and watching her, she offered them a small, shy smile considering she had woken up earlier in their arms. They returned her smile with happy ones before they all turned towards their combined bedding to start packing up.

* * *

"What do you think Bilbo?" The hobbit jumped in surprise at the sudden question and turned to see Kyra standing behind him with a small smile on her face. "Sorry about that."

"It's quite alright Kyra. However, what do you mean 'what do you think?' Think about what?" Kyra hummed at the question as she moved to stand next to him on the cliff to stare out over the valley and night sky.

"The view of course. Different from the Shire?" Understanding showed on his face before nodding in agreement.

"It is very different yet still very beautiful."

"So no regrets? At least at this moment?" Bilbo chuckled at her.

"No, no. Not yet."

"I'm glad." They both remained silent as they watched the stars for a few minutes before Kyra took a deep breath and turned towards the hobbit next to her. "Bilbo. I have a question to ask of you."

"What is it?" Bilbo asked. Confusion clear on his face as he watched her fidget with her hoodie strings. It wasn't often he saw her so nervous.

"Um, well. Ever since I met you, I felt that we always had a connection, a familial connection that is. As you know, I don't have any family but it feels as if you are the brother that I never had." Bilbo's face switched from confusion to understanding as he realized where Kyra was going with her explanation.

"So I was wondering if you would consider having me or adopting me or whatever it is that is done here, as your sister? I know it's weird especially since we aren't blood and haven't really known each other that long but I feel that you are the brother of my heart. You don't have to accept if you don't want to! I don't want to pressure you," she quickly finished, eyes on her shoes. Bilbo chuckled softly before moving closer to the young woman and placing both hands on her shoulders.

"It would be my honour to have you as my little sister, Kyra Summers." Kyra's eyes shot up to meet Bilbo's in shock. She searched his eyes to find acceptance of her and her question and brotherly love that she often saw within the company with their kin. Tears filled her eyes before throwing her arms around his waist in a tight hug, causing Bilbo to chuckle once more as he returned her hug in earnest.

The moment was broken when a screech filled the air, causing the duo break apart to stare out over the cliff. Another screech soon followed the first, making Bilbo shrink back and hurry to his bedroll. Kyra remained at the cliff, staring into the darkness while the rest of the company tensed up as they continued to ready for bed.

"What was that?" Bilbo asked shakily. With that little question being asked, the Durin brothers were on.

"Orcs," Kili spoke up.

"Orcs?" Thorin sat up at the words being exchanged, his whole body tense.

"Throat cutters. There'll be dozens out there. The lowlands are crawling with them," Fili further explained.

"They strike in the wee small hours when everyone is asleep. Quick and quiet, no screams, just lots of blood," Kili finished. Kyra whirled around from her spot on the cliff to glare at the brothers.

"Enough!" she demanded angrily. The brothers looked at her in shock at her anger.

"You think that's funny?" Thorin's question quickly following Kyra's que. "You know nothing of the world!"

Thorin turned away from them as Balin stepped forward to explain to the company why the dwarf king was angry towards the cubs joke. At the end of Balin's story, Kyra marched over to the cubs to grab her sleeping gear from between their bedding and started towards Bilbo's chosen spot for the night.

"Ky?"

"Where are you going?" Kyra dropped her stuff next to the hobbit before whirling around to glare at them. The rest of the dwarves tensed at seeing her angry. They were also shocked at her anger.

"I'm going to sleep next to Bilbo for the night. I did not appreciate that joke." Without another word, Kyra turned her back on her cubs to climb into her bedroll. Keeping her back towards the rest of the company, she willed herself to fall asleep as Bilbo climbed into his own bedroll. The company quietly followed their example except for Bombur and Bofur who were on watch for the first half of the night.

* * *

The next morning was mostly silent as the company travelled. Kyra had refused to ride with either brother but had chosen to ride with Bilbo instead, causing the brothers to be in a foul mood at her choice. The rest of the dwarves didn't want to invoke their female's wrath so remained silent on the situation. The mood with further dampened as the sky became darkened with clouds which soon opened up and began pouring. Several minutes passed into hours without the rain letting up, causing several dwarves to loud voice their complaints.

"Here Mr. Gandalf, can't you do something about this deluge?" asked Dori.

"It is raining, Master Dwarf and it will continue to rain until the rain is done. If you wish to change the weather of the world, you should find yourself another Wizard," Gandalf countered.

"Are there any?" Bilbo asked.

"What?" 

"Other Wizards of course," Kyra echoed behind her brother, chuckling as the order of questions were asked by different dwarves as written in the book.

"There are five of us. The greatest of our order is Saruman the White. Then there are the two Blue Wizards.  
Do you know, I've quite forgotten their names."

"And who is the fifth?" Fili piped up from the back of the line.

"Well, that would be Radagast the Brown."

"Is he a great Wizard? Or is he more like you?" Kili spoke up, elbowing his brother at the slight joke.

"I think he's a very great Wizard, in his own way. He's a gentle soul who prefers the company of animals to others. He keeps a watchful eye over the vast forest lands to the east. And a good thing too. For always evil will look to find a foothold in this world," Gandalf explained. At his sombre last words, the conversation seemed closed and everyone returned to being silent once more.

* * *

"Here's the water you asked for master dwarf." Bombur looked up at Kyra with a smile.

"Thanks lass." Taking the water from her, he started to work on getting dinner started. Not sure what else to do, Kyra walked across the camp towards her brother. She couldn't shake the feeling she knew this place but couldn't figure out why or how. Passing by Bifur, she smiled and waved at him. He smiled and waved back happily before returning to his whittling. Kyra's smile disappeared when she caught sight of Bilbo pacing and wringing his hands by the burnt down house with the sun almost disappearing in the distance.

"Everything all right?" She asked. Before the hobbit could answer, Gandalf stormed past them while muttering to himself.

"Gandalf, where are you going?" Bilbo called out.

"To seek the company of the only one around here who's got any sense."

"And who's that?" 

"Myself, Mr. Baggins. I've had enough of Dwarves for one day." Kyra's eyes widened at the wizards words. She knew where they were and what was going to happen.

"Come on, Bombur, we're hungry," Thorin called out angrily as he stormed past the duo.

"Is he coming back?" Bilbo asked his sister worriedly, causing her to look sharply at him.

"Bilbo. I need you to stay with the company. I need to go after Gandalf and talk to him. Whatever happens,don't fall for any jokes and make sure to keep your wits about you. You will need it."

"Wha…?" Before Bilbo could finish his question, Kyra shot off down the road after the wizard; leaving the confused hobbit behind to deal with the coming situation that would require quick thinking and strategy.

* * *

"Gandalf! Gandalf stop! Come on long legs, at least slow down! I have short legs you know!" Kyra shouted at the wizard.

She was catching up since she was running but his long legs did make it harder to catch up. By the time Gandalf came to a full stop, letting her catch up to him, the sun had been gone for a few hours. As Kyra slowed down to a walk to a stop next to him, trying to catch her breath, the wizard set about getting his pipe ready for a smoke.

"Why didn't you stop when I asked?" she asked after catching her breath. Straightening up to glare at him, she couldn't help but feel extremely irritated at being ignored. Gandalf took a slow drag off his pipe before letting out it the night air. Both silently watched it until it dispersed above their heads, fading away to make way for the stars above.

"I just needed to think for a moment my dear. Oakenshield is stubborn and hard headed. Sometimes trying to talk sense into him is like talking to a rock," he explained, causing Kyra's relaxed stature to tense up.

"About rocks, we need to get back to the company. We need to get back before sun rise." Gandalf looked sharply at her.

"What is it that you know?"

"The reason that farm house is destroyed is because of trolls and the company doesn't know that they're there! We need to go Gandalf."

"By all means." The duo rushed back the way they came, both hoping they would reach the dwarves and hobbit in time.

* * *

"In fact, they all have. They're infested with parasites. It's a terrible business. I wouldn't risk it. I really wouldn't." Gandalf and Kyra could hear Bilbo explaining to the trolls while they snuck around in the bushes to get to the giant rocks that would be blocking the sun rise.

"Parasites? Did he say "parasites"?"

"We don't have parasites."

"You have parasites!"

"What are you talking about, laddie?" Kyra couldn't help but roll her eyes at the stupidity of the situation. She had always found it funny in the movies and the book but now that it was real life, it seemed stupid, annoying, and downright ridiculous how everyone but Gandalf and herself would not trust Bilbo to handle the situation.

"I've got parasites as big as my arm."

"Mine are the biggest parasites."

"I've got huge parasites."

"We're riddled." As all the dwarves were finally going along with Bilbo's scheme against the trolls, Gandalf was climbing up the rocks as the sky was starting to lighten up.

"What would you have us do, then? Let them all go? You think I don't know what you're up to?  
This little ferret is taking us for fools."

"Ferret?"

"Fools?"

"The dawn will take you all!" The moment Gandalf hit the rock with his staff, Kyra rushed out of the bushes to make sure everyone was okay, completely ignoring the trolls as they turned to stone.

"Bilbo! You alright?" The hobbit nodded while Kyra helped him out of his sack.

"Yeah ferret, you alright?" Kili managed to call out from the bottom of the struggling pile of sacked up dwarves. Kyra's head whipped to look at them, with a glare and anger written all over her face but held her tongue until the company had officially righted themselves and made themselves presentable.

"You have no right to treat Bilbo like that or call him names! He may be your burglar but it's not his fault the ponies got stolen in the first place! I know you used him as bait! You can't just toss him to the trolls like some piece of meat! All of you are lucky that he was able to buy enough time for Gandalf and I to return. He saved your lives with his cleverness."

"It is true. He had the nous to play for time. None of the rest of you thought of that," Gandalf intersected as he examined the statues of the trolls. Kyra nodded in agreement with the wizard.

"And I will not tolerate the two of you treating and teasing him that way or any of you for that matter!" Kyra looked at the rest of the company to see them fidgeting, missing the dark looks to come over the cubs faces.

"Why do you care about the hobbit so much?" Fili asked, anger evident in his voice. Bilbo and Gandalf watched the exchange between the company; both parties wary of the only female in their midst.

"Because he is the brother of my heart! We may not be blood but we are as close as any sibling," she explained. The dark looks and anger faded from the brothers faces as they listened. Kyra looked at Thorin, stubbornness showing in her eyes and stance.

"He is my brother regardless if we share no blood therefore he is my family, my kin. I will not tolerate or allow anyone in this company to belittle him. We do not do it to you or yours so do not do it to me and mine."

Everyone remained silent after her speech was finished. Gandalf hid a smile behind his staff and Bilbo puffed out his chest to have such a brave sister. Bofur and his kin were the first to agree with Kyra, quickly followed by the rest of the company.

"Agreed!" shouted Kili and Fili. All eyes turned to look at Thorin, whose face was unreadable. The dwarves shifted uncomfortably at their leader's silence but continued to watch the exchange. The tension in the air faded as a smirk spread across Thorin's face.

"I cannot promise that I will not yell at him or be frustrated with his lack of skills but I can promise that I will try to honor your wishes as well as your kin," he finally answered. A squeal escaped Kyra as she rushed to Thorin, throwing her arms around his neck in a tight hug while chanting 'thank you' repeatedly. Thorin chuckled and returned her hug, causing the tension in the company to disappear and smiles to spread around.

"Sorry to interrupt but it seems the trolls must of come down from the Ettenmoors," announced Gandalf after hitting the stone leg of a troll. Kyra and Thorin separated to look at the wizard.

"Since when do Mountain Trolls venture this far south?" Thorin asked, causing the woman by his side to bite her lip in.

"Ooh. Not for an age. Not since a darker power ruled these lands. They could not have moved in daylight," the wizard confirmed.

"There must be cave nearby." Thorin looked to the rest of the dwarves. "Hurry and break camp. We will search for the cave once we have finished." Yells of agreement followed suit before several dwarves rushed pasted Kyra, including the cubs to reach camp first. They had treasure to find. Bilbo and Gandalf joined Kyra in a slower pace towards the camp, the trio not in much hurry to find the troll-hoard.

* * *

"Oh, what's that stench?"

"It's a troll-hoard. Be careful of what you touch," Gandalf advised. Kyra and Bilbo walked side by side but stopped at the entrance of the cave, both covering their noses and mouths.

"I think I will stay out here," Bilbo whispered to his sister. Kyra nodded in understanding and headed inside with the others. Seeing three dwarves burying some treasure in a chest, she couldn't help but giggle and move further into the cave. There were several weapons and jewels laying around, but nothing really caught her eye that interested her, besides she was looking for a specific piece of weaponry.

"Ah! Kyra. I found a something that may be of use to our dear hobbit," Gandalf called out to her, gesturing to a small sword in his hand. Realizing he was holding Sting, she rushed forward to gently take it from the wizards hands. After examining the blade, to make sure it was indeed the legendary sword, she nodded her acceptance to her companion.

"I think it will suit him well." The duo shared a smile before heading back to the entrance to present their findings to Bilbo.

"Bilbo," Kyra called to the hobbit when they saw him. 

"Hmm?"

"Here. This is about your size," Gandalf announced, giving him the elvish blade.

"I can't take this."

"The blade is of Elvish make, ...which means it will glow blue when Orcs or Goblins are nearby."

"I have never used a sword in my life." The shaking in Bilbo's voice and in his eyes showed that he was afraid, even though the hand that held Sting was steady.

"And I hope you never have to. But if you do, remember this: True courage is about knowing  
not when to take a life but when to spare one," Gandalf explained with sad look on his face, his eyes begging the hobbit to understand.

"Bilbo, please," Kyra asked while placing her hand the arm that was holding the sword, worry and encouragement on her face. The fear that was in his eyes faded as the siblings of the heart stared at each other.

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it." Relief flooded both Gandalf and Kyra at Bilbo's reply.

"Something's coming!"


	6. Chapter 5

"Gandalf?" Bilbo asked worriedly.

"Stay together!" cried the said wizard.

"Hurry now! Arm yourselves!" Thorin echoed after Gandalf. Bilbo grabbed the hilt of Sting, ready to pull it free when Kyra placed her hand on his to stop him. Glancing up at her, she shook her head no before turning to watch the trees where their guest was to come from. Bilbo frowned at her actions but followed her silent request and let go of the hilt. Several furry creatures attached to a sled burst through the trees at a dead run with it's humanoid companion shouting in anger.

"Thieves! Fire! Murder!"

"Radagast. It's Radagast the brown." At Gandalf's relieved tone and the lowering of his weapon, the dwarves followed. Radagast stopped a good distance from the company, causing Gandalf to walk away from them towards the brown wizard.

"Who's that again?" Bilbo asked Kyra. Before she could answer, all three Durin's were next to them.

"Yes. Who is he?" Thorin asked. Kyra couldn't help but roll her eyes at both questions.

"That's Radagast the brown. He's an Istari also but lower rank than Gandalf. Remember that Gandalf told us about him yesterday during our ride in the rain?" she explained.

"Oh! I remember now!" Kili exclaimed while Thorin and Fili nodded in agreement. Kyra couldn't help but smile at Kili's cuteness, causing him to grin happily back at her. The moment was cut short when a howl echoed throughout the woods and clearing, making everyone tense once more.

"Was that a wolf?"

"Are there wolves out there?"

"Wolves? No, that is not a wolf," Gandalf confirmed. Thorin whirled to look at his youngest nephew.

"Kili, get your bow!" Just as he finished speaking, a warg jumped out of the other side of the clearing, causing Kili to shoot it with his bow; Thorin and Dwalin finishing it off.

"Warg scouts."

"Which means an orc pack is not far behind."

"Orc pack?" Bilbo asked shakily.

"Who did you tell about your quest beyond your kin?" Gandalf asked as he closed the distance between him and the dwarf king.

"No one."

"Who did you tell?" The wizard demanded; his words making everyone wary.

"No one, I swear. What in Durin's name is going on?" Thorin was quickly becoming angry at the wizards questioning. Kyra walked forward, a grim look on her face; a look none has seen on her face before, making Thorin regarded her seriously.

"We are being hunted." With those words leaving her mouth, the dwarves sprang into action and Ori running to grab the ponies.

"We have to get out of here."

"We can't!" Came a shout from Ori as he ran back to them. "We have no ponies. They bolted."

"I'll draw them off," Radagast spoke up. Everyone stopped moving as all eyes turned to the brown wizard.

"These are Gundabad wargs," Gandalf implored. "They will outrun you."

"Gandalf, _those_ are Rhosgobel rabbits," Kyra piped up. Her response earning a grin from Radagast and a eye roll from Gandalf.

"She is right Gandalf. I'd like to see them try." Gandalf sighed in surrender at the other wizard's determination and nodded his consent. With that nod, everyone broke once more into a scramble to get everything they needed before making a run for it.

* * *

Adrenaline was pumping through their veins as they ran. The taunting from Radagast could be heard across the rock covered plain, followed by howls and growls from the wargs and their riders. With Gandalf leading them and using the rocks as cover, the company was making fast ground. Radagast was suddenly too close to them, bringing the enemy with him. The company had to quickly hide behind a rock but Ori kept going.

Sounds of alarm escaped his brothers and the cubs as Kyra leapt after the young dwarf. She managed to grab Ori's bag, yanking him backwards into Dori and herself into Fili. Before anyone could catch their breath, a growl sounded above them. They held still while Kili stepped forward to shoot the ward with his bow. After disposing of the warg and its rider, they rushed off once more.

"All of you come on. Quick!" Gandalf yelled as he led them to the tallest rock on the plain.

"Where are you leading us?" Thorin yelled back but the wizard provided no answer. The fastest of the company reached the rock first, turning to assist the slower of the group. Kyra was running with Bilbo and Ori, making sure they didn't get left behind. More howls sounded behind them, causing Kyra to usher them to move faster.

"Come on guys!" she cried but the two youngest were tired and stumbled into each other, giving enough time for a orc to be upon them. Fear filled Kyra at the sight the orc behind her friend and brother.

"No!" her scream attracted the attention of the rest of the company. Their cries of surprise and fear for the trio could be heard but Kyra was already moving. Pulling her taiji jian sword from her side, she ran between the hobbit and dwarf to block the orc's blade. The duo stopped to stare at her and the orc. Kyra tried to hide her fear as she held the orc back.

"Go! Hurry to the others! Go!" she screamed at them. They turned their backs to her and ran.

"Kili! Shoot them!" Thorin ordered.

"You're a strong human and I will enjoy tearing into that flesh," the orc growled at Kyra from the other side of their locked blades.

"We're surrounded!"

"Where's Gandalf!"

"He's abandoned us!"

"Hold your ground!"

Time seemed to slow down to Kyra as the shouts and cries from the company echoed behind her, followed by the sounds of steel on steel and arrows being fired. The sounds faded and all she could hear was her heavy breathing and heartbeat. _'Triumph over it._ ' Her eyes widened at the thought before schooling her face into a serious expression. Time sped back up when she leaned towards her opponent.

"You wish." Quickly swinging her leg up, she landed a blow to the orc's privates. With a cry of pain, he backed away, dropping his sword to grab his injury, giving the opportunity to let Kyra knock him out with her sword.

"Kyra! Let's go lass!" Dwalin called to her. Placing her sword back into its scabbard, she turned to start towards the rock once more. She was happy to see the dwarves disappearing quickly down the secret entrance to Rivendell, leaving only the Durin family and Dwalin left. The closer she got, the more anxious she could see her cubs becoming. Kili quickly raised his bow with an arrow already drawn at her, causing her eyes to widen but any thoughts were wiped from her mind when was suddenly grabbed by the hair and pulled backwards.

A cry of pain and surprise escaped her just as Kili's arrow soared past her head to hit the orc that had grabbed her. However, the orc's hold on her hair didn't loosen. Falling to her left knee, she winced in pain before locking eyes on Kili's and Fili's faces. Pure fear showed there as they screamed her name. Kyra could hear a blade unsheathe behind her; her eyes shifted to Thorin and Dwalin to see anger in their eyes while their faces remained unreadable.

The cubs screamed her name once more, causing her to reach back for her nandao blade hidden under her book bag. Once her hand closed around the hilt, she pulled it free, scaring the orc behind her. He leaned back away from her, making her braid tight. Without thinking, Kyra swung her nandao sword up the best she could behind her, cutting her hair from the orc's grasp as he fell over from his loss of leverage. Once free, Kyra pushed herself to her feet and broke into a sprint towards her friends while sliding her sword back into place.

Keeping her eyes locked on her destination, she could see Dwalin grab Fili and Kili, pushing them down the hole before following. Thorin remained, holding his sword ready in a defensive stance. His yells to her to hurry did little to block out the wargs behind her. Kyra motioned with her hands to the dwarf king as she yelled at him to go on without her. Conflict showed in his stance before he turned and followed his kinsmen downwards. Six feet from the opening, an elven horn rang out and sounds of horses followed in its wake.

Kyra didn't stop or look behind, knowing the elves of Rivendell had arrived. Two feet from the entrance, she dropped and slide like a baseball player getting to first base towards the opening just as arrows whizzed by her head. As the arrows hit the rock in front of her, Kyra made a home run as she fell down to land on her backside in safety. Several voices cried out her name before she was hastily and roughly grabbed from the ground to avoid having a dead orc land on her.

"Elves," Thorin spoke angrily to Kyra's left. She blinked rapidly, letting her eyes adjust to the darkened cave.

"Dwalin?"

"Aye lass. You alright?" His face hard but concern clear in his eyes, causing Kyra to relax in his hold and smile weakly at him.

"Yea." He nodded at her answer before letting her go. Giving her should a gentle pat, he followed the line of dwarves leaving the cave. Kyra took the moment to gather herself together from what had happened above them.

"Kyra."

"Ky." Three voices called at once.

At the cave entrance leading out, stood Bilbo, Fili, and Kili. She smiled softly at them and they returned it before leaving as a group of four. An hour passed of the company walking until a city came into a view. Everyone's eyes save for Gandalf and Thorin's widened at the beauty of the forest and elven city.

"Welcome to The Valley of Imladris. In common tongue it's known by another name."

"Rivendell."

* * *

Everyone remained silent as they walked over the bridge into the elven city. Kyra couldn't help but laugh quietly at Bilbo's fascination with everything around them but her mirth was cut short when she noticed how the dwarves were acting. All of their faces held distrust and uncertainty as they kept looking around, expecting to be attacked at any moment. She couldn't help but frown at their distrust but couldn't blame them either because of their history. All she could hope for was that they would come to see the difference from the wood elves of their home and the elves of Rivendell.

"Here lies the Last Homely House East of the Sea," announced Gandalf.

"This was your plan all along, to seek refuge with our enemy," Thorin accused Gandalf, anger and distrust clearly evident as they reached the end of the bridge.

"You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield. The only ill will to be found in this valley is that which you bring yourself."

"You think the elves will give our quest their blessing? They will try to stop us."

"Of course they will but we have questions that need answered. If we are so be successful, this will need to be handled with tack, respect, and no small degree of charm. Which is why you will leave the talking to me." Thorin scowled at the wizard while everyone watched the exchange silently. While the two were talking, a young male elf approached them.

"Mithrandir," the mysterious elf greeted to Gandalf. Kyra raised an eyebrow at the much the elf appeared to be in person than what Tolkien described.

"Ah. Lindir!" At the wizard's greeting, the dwarves started whispering to each other, making Kyra roll her eyes. "I must speak with Lord Elrond."

"My Lord Elrond is not here."

"Not here? Where is he?" Suddenly an elven horn rand out as several horses with elven riders galloped towards them.

"Close ranks!" Thorin shouted. Knowing what was about to happen, Kyra dropped to the ground to climb through the dwarves legs towards Gandalf.

"Kyra! Where are you?" Fili cried out franticly at her disappearance.

"Ky! Where's Ky! Has anyone seen her?" Kili asked while trying to hold rank as he kept swerving his head around to look for her.

"She was just here, next to the hobbit!" Bofur replied. Before anyone could continue looking for the female, the horses stopped in front of them. Gandalf moved swiftly from Lindir to greet the riders. The leader climbed off his horse and took his helmet to reveal Lord Elrond of Rivendell.

"Gandalf."

"Lord Elrond."

"Strange for orcs to come so close to our borders. Something or someone has drawn them near." Gandalf grimaced slightly at the elf's words.

"That may have been us," the he explained. Lord Elrond nodded in understanding before turning to address the rest of the company.

"Welcome Thorin, son of Thrain."

"I do not believe we have met," Thorin stated coolly.

"You have your grandfather's bearing. I knew Thror when he ruled Under the Mountain."

"Indeed. He made no mention of you." Gandalf raised his eyes to look skyward at the words while Lord Elrond raised an eyebrow before turning to address his riders in elvish. The language quickly upset the dwarves and made them suspicious.

"What is he saying? Does he offer us insult?" Gloin asked. At that moment, Kyra popped up from underneath the company's legs to stand between Thorin and Gandalf.

"Of course not Gloin. He's offering us food!" she declared as her tummy rumbled hungrily. The dwarves were shocked to see her after her short but quick disappearing act. At her appearance, Lord Elrond turned to regard her.

"Welcome Lady Kyra. It is an honor to have one chosen by the Gods in my home." Gandalf cleared his throat as the rest of the company made remarks of disbelief and confusion, Bilbo being one of them. Thorin, however, remained silent before taking a step closure to Kyra while he stared stonily at the elf lord. She couldn't tell if it in anger at the elf's words, to offer her comfort, or protection, or if he was simply angry at the information that her and Gandalf had never shared.

"Chosen by the Gods?" the dwarf king asked. Kyra couldn't help but look at her feet and play with her drawstring as she tensed at the king's question. She didn't know that Lord Elrond would know but she shouldn't of been surprised. Lord Elrond was very knowledgeable and he had the sight so if she was honest with herself, she couldn't be that surprised that he knew.

"Lady Kyra was chosen and sent here by the gods to help on a quest of great importance. What quest, I do not know." All eyes fell to the only female at Rivendell's entrance. Kyra tightened her hold on the drawstring in her grasp and didn't move or speak. Gandalf cleared his throat as he placed his hand on her shoulder, shocking Kyra at the sudden comforting touch as her head shot up to look at him.

"It is true. As an Istari, they had let me know of her coming. However, questions can be saved for later. Let us all retire to the dining hall," Gandalf spoke gently. Lord Elrond called for a couple of elves to escort the hobbit and the dwarves to their sleeping chambers before taking them to the dining hall. The last elf took Kyra to her own personal chamber. No words or arguments were given at the separation as they would normally have. The news of why Kyra had originally joined them, sat heavily on all their minds.

* * *

Several minutes passed with Kyra sitting in her borrowed bedroom on the bed with her head in her hands. She had already bathed and trimmed her hair to be even after she had to cut it in battle. It no longer fell to her lower back when free but came to the middle, just barely above the bottom of her sports bra. Leaving her hair down to dry, she had rearranged her bag and cleaned her weapons. Once everything was done to her liking, she finally settled into her current position, running out of tasks that had previously kept her mind busy.

She kept re-thinking over the situation that had happened on the bridge. Gandalf and Kyra had never spoken about telling Thorin or the company as whole about the whole 'chosen' thing. She personally thought they didn't need to know because she didn't want to be treated differently and what if she failed in the mission she was given. She knew it was her choice to take it but she didn't want to let anyone down, especially her brother and her cubs.

A few more minutes passed before the silence in the room was broken by a heavy knock on the door. Kyra jumped slightly at the sudden noise but shook it off to answer the door. On the other side of the door stood Thorin, making her nervous. Neither said a word as she motioned him to come inside. Thorin examined her room while she sat back onto the bed and looked at the floor. A deep sigh came from the dwarf king when he came to stop in front of her.

"Why didn't you say anything?" he asked calmly but quietly so as to not spook her. Grabbing her drawstring, she shrugged before speaking but still refusing to look at him.

"Honestly I didn't even know until the day before I met everyone in The Shire. We never talked about telling anyone. I kind of forgot about that part," she answered truthfully. Thorin let out another sigh before pulling a chair up to the bed to sit across from her instead of standing. He didn't want to look down on her, but wanted to be on level ground.

"Kyra, look at me." She looked up at him shyly. "Where you really sent here to help with a quest?" At her nod, he asked the question that was bugging him the most. "What quest?"

"Yours." Her answer made him tense but in his mind he couldn't help but feel slightly relieved that it was his quest she was chosen to help with and not someone else's, especially not the elves.

"Then I cannot be too angry at not being told." Kyra gave him a questioning look. "I cannot be angry at a gift from the gods. It also means that the gods themselves have approved of our quest."

"That makes sense," she responded with a small smile which the dwarf returned before it disappeared. Kyra's smile also disappeared as Thorin became serious once more.

"I do, however, have another question. What is going on between you and my nephews?" Thorin's bold question caused Kyra's face to turn red in embarrassment.

"I'm not sure." Thorin narrowed his eyes at her, making her provide a further explanation. "It's hard to explain for me because I don't understand it. I feel a connection or bond, if that makes sense, to _both_ of your nephews. It's this feeling I have in my chest and head. I feel drawn to them and I can't seem to break away or even have the want too." Thorin's face remained impassive but she could see the recognition in his eyes while she spoke. Not knowing what that means, she dropped the drawstring along with her head and eyes.

"I'm sorry," she whispered after a few minutes of silence. Neither spoke for what seemed like hours before Thorin placed a hand on top of hers. Kyra looked up at him, trying to hide her nervousness from him.

"It seems that the gods sent you here for more than just a quest."

"What do you mean?" She asked in confusion. Thorin simply smiled at her, his eyes happy before standing up.

"Come. It's time we joined the others at the dining hall." Still confused, Kyra got off the bed and followed Thorin out of her room towards the rest of the company.

"I'm still confused!" Thorin laughed at her words. "Thorin! It's not funny!" Kyra huffed angrily at him, making him laugh harder; his laugh echoing through the halls.


	7. Chapter 6

_**Sorry for such a short chapter. sick with the flu. love you guys!**_

* * *

Thorin and Kyra quietly argued about their previous conversation in her bedroom. The dwarf king not revealing anything frustrated Kyra to no end. As they came to the entrance of the dining hall, Kyra stopped while grabbing Thorin's arm, causing him to stop as well. He turned to her with a raised eyebrow.

"Am I dressed okay?" she asked nervously. Thorin remained silent as he examined her appearance. He noticed her pants and boots were clean and for the first time, he realized she was wearing Fili's tunic. He choose not to comment on it as his eyes landed on Kyra's hair. His eyes softened while he reached up to touch her shortened hair.

"You look fine Kyra." She smiled in relief, causing Thorin to smirk in return before frowning as he was still holding a strand of her hair. "You cut your hair for us," he commented, sadness evident in his voice. Kyra blushed and looked down.

"I'm sorry." Her words caused Thorin's frown to deepen. Letting go of her hair, he gestured to the bench close by.

"Come."

Kyra raised her own eyebrow at him but silently followed him to the bench and sat down at his request. He placed his hands on her shoulders and gently turned her so her back was facing him. He instructed her to not move before taking her hair into his hands and started separating it, getting it ready to braid. Kyra tensed in shock because Thorin Oakenshield was braiding her hair. It was a big deal for a dwarf to braid someone's hair, especially if they were not a Darrow.

A few minutes passed by and Thorin completed the braid before starting on a smaller one close to her ear. Holding the end, he reached into a pouch on his belt and withdrew a small, silver bead. He placed it into the smaller braid before tying it off completely. He placed the small braid over Kyra's shoulder so she could see it before he stepped back to watch her reaction. Kyra blinked at it as she slowly picked it up to examine it.

It was a simple braid but the bead is what caught her attention. The small silver bead had several designs but also showed the Durin family rune. She had only seen it once before when she was researching through Tolkien's writings. Not knowing what it meant for sure, she turned to Thorin with a questioning look.

"You have done much for me and my kin, especially in this last battle where you risked much for us. You haven't been with us long and we haven't really talked as much as I'd like, however that does not change how I view you. I have no children and as much as I love my nephews, they are not mine even though they are my heirs; I do not feel a fatherly bond as I feel with you. I have felt this bond since the minute we met at Mr. Baggins. This bead represents that you are my daughter, therefore a Durin." Kyra's eyes filled with tears as he spoke.

"Are…are you sure?" he sighed at her question.

"Yes. Just as you feel your bond with Mr. Baggins as your brother, I feel it when you as my daughter. You, Kyra Summers, _are_ my daughter," he stated firmly.

Kyra leapt off of the bench to engulf Thorin in a hug, which he returned the hug happily, tears in both of their eyes. A cough sounded from the dining hall, causing the two to separate. The duo turned to see Balin smiling at them. He motioned towards the others, inviting them inside. They walked to the older dwarf, with Thorin's arm over Kyra's shoulders. The action made Balin's eyes fall onto the braid and bead in Kyra's hair. Realizing what it was, his smile widened as he looked at Kyra's face.

"My lady," he commented with a slight bow. Kyra blushed at his actions before the trio entered the hall. The talking stopped as everyone's eyes fell onto Thorin and Kyra. They all noticed the bead as well, which made them all stand and bow slightly to Kyra with a 'my lady' in unison. Thorin lead Kyra to Lord Elrond's table as everyone sat back down. Once they were seated at the table, everyone in the room began to eat.

"Welcome. We thought you lost Lady Kyra." Kyra blushed at Lord Elrond's words before apologizing to him for being late. Everyone at the table chuckled at her as they ate while music and conversation filled the room. Kyra slowly ate as she listened to Gandalf, Thorin, and Lord Elrond talk about the swords they had discovered in the troll hoard.

"This is Orcist, the Goblin-cleaver. A famous blade, forged by the High-Elves of the west, my kin. May it serve you well," Lord Elrond explained as he handed the sword back to Thorin. The dwarf king's face remained stoic as he nodded his thanks but his eyes showed surprise at being able to keep the sword. Kyra smirked into her food, hoping this would help show her newly adopted father that the elves of Rivendell meant them no harm.

Kyra zoned out when the elf went over Glamdring and looked around the dining hall. She noticed Ori refusing to the salad that Dori gave him while Nori chuckled; which caused her to smile. Her smile turned to a frown when she saw Balin talking to Bilbo and the hobbit putting away his sword. She was going to have to explain Sting to her brother; she wanted him to understand so he could pass it onto Frodo. Kyra froze at her thoughts; it was far too early to think of the fellowship. 'One quest at a time.'

After her thought, she kept examining the rest of the company until her gaze finally falling onto her cubs. She was shocked to see that Kili was not flirting, let alone looking at any elves but was in a deep conversation with his brother. The longer she observed them, she noticed that they would cast her quick, shy looks before going back to talking. Kyra cocked her head slightly in confusion at their behavior. Thorin smiled behind his goblet as he watched the trio; hoping his nephews would speak with the young woman while they were still in Rivendell where their relationship had time to flourish further.

Not long after Thorin and Kyra had joined everyone in the hall, dinner ended and everyone dispersed towards their rooms for the evening. Kyra separated from the company with good nights as she headed to her own room. Once in her room, she removed her boots and sat on her bed against the headboard while playing with her new family braid. She quickly became lost in thought and lost track of time before there was a knock at her door. Blinking to clear her vision, she looked towards the door and called out to the intruder of her thoughts to come in.

The door slowly opened to reveal Fili and Kili. They both walked in before Kili closed the door behind them. Kyra remained silent as the brothers exchanged looks with each other. Neither exchanged words as they climbed onto Kyra's bed with her, so they were facing her but still sat side by side and everyone's knees where touching. As they made themselves comfortable, Kyra played with the tunic's drawstring while she examined their dressed down appearance.

They were both missing their outer wear and all their weapons so they were only wearing their tunics, pants, and boots. Both of their tunics open slightly at the top just like hers but theirs showed some of their chest hair. They had also bathed and their hair was brushed an re-braided. The brother's scents filled her senses since they were so close and she couldn't help but close her eyes and inhale deeply to refresh those scents in her mind. As she exhaled, she opened her eyes to see her cubs watching her with soft smiles on their faces.

"Hey Ky," they greeted softly; both of their eyes watching her movements and she knew that they were both aware that she was wearing Fili's tunic once again.

"Hey Fee, hey Kee." At her returned greeting, Kili reached into his side pouch under his tunic to withdraw a folded piece of clothing.

"This is for you," he stated shyly. Kyra took the piece of clothing to unravel it to reveal one of Kili's tunics. The confusion must of showed on her face because Kili began to speak. "It's to go with Fili's. So now you have one tunic from each of us."

"Oh! Thank you! But I hadn't meant to keep your tunic Fili. I was going to return it." Fili shook his head at Kyra's words.

"No Ky, I want you to keep it. It looks good on you," he replied cheekily. Kyra blushed at his words but nodded in understanding.

"We do have a question for you though," Kili started but froze at her expectant look.

"We wanted to know if you are bound to any one." Fili finished. Kyra couldn't help but giggle at their question, mainly in confusion and surprise. "Ky…Kyra…this is serious. Do you have a bond with anyone?" he asked softly. Kyra calmed down when taking in Fili's somber expression and Kili's sadness.

"I'm sorry but I don't understand what you mean. If you mean a 'bond' as in friendship then yes but if you mean like marriage or something similar then no, no I do not. As much as I love the rest of the company but I do not connect with them," she finished with another laugh. During her explanation, she gauged their reactions, hoping to figure out where this conversation was going. The two brothers went from somber and sad to relieved, making her even more curious.

"Glad to hear it!" Kili exclaimed with a grin.

"What? I'm so confused!" she exclaimed in exasperation. The similarities between Thorin and his nephews in confusing her were so identical that it frustrated her. The brothers just grinned at her before moving to sit on either side of her and placing a kiss on each of her cheeks.

"We don't mean to confuse you but we wanted to make sure we could court you without worry," Fili explained.

"Both?" she asked.

"Yup! Both of us," Kili replied as his grin got bigger before fading a little. "Is that okay with you?" Kyra remained silent as she thought about his question.

"I…I mean I guess so since my feelings for both of you are mutual. It wouldn't feel right if I just choose one," she explained shyly.

Kili's grin brightened again just as he leaned into Kyra to give her cheek another kiss before removing his boots and getting comfortable in her bed. Fili chuckled at his brother's antics as he followed his lead. Kyra remained silent as she watched the brothers until Kili climbed under the covers and looked at her innocently. She snorted at him before joining him, with Fili right behind her. The cubs molded into her as her eyes grew heavy from the exhausting day and it didn't take long before sleep claimed the trio.

* * *

Morning came to find Kyra sitting on the balcony that was part of her room, listening to her phone. She didn't have long until it officially died to she was listening to some of her favorite songs. The brothers were still asleep in her bed while she watched the sun peek over the trees and Rivendell became illuminated with light, making it breathtaking once more. The current song she was listening to ended and Demi Lovato's song 'Heart by Heart' started to play. Kyra leaned further back in the chair she was sitting in to sing quietly along.

 _When your soul finds the soul  
It was waiting for  
When someone walks into your heart  
Through an open door  
When your hand finds the hand  
It was meant to hold  
Don't let go_

 _Someone comes into your world  
Suddenly your world has changed forever_

 _No, there's no one else's eyes  
That can see into me  
No one else's arms can lift  
Lift me up so high  
Your love lifts me out of time  
And you know my heart by heart_

 _When you're one with the one  
You were meant to find  
Everything falls in place  
All the stars align  
When you're touched by the cloud  
That has touched your soul  
Don't let go_

 _Someone comes into your life  
It's like they've been in your life forever_

 _No, there's no one else's eyes  
That can see into me  
No one else's arms can lift  
Lift me up so high  
Your love lifts me out of time  
And you know my heart by heart_

 _So now we've found our way  
To find each other  
So now I found my way  
To you_

 _No, there's no one else's eyes  
That can see into me_

 _No, there's no one else's eyes  
That can see into me  
No one else's arms can lift  
Lift me up so high  
Your love lifts me out of time_

As Kyra was coming to the end of the song, two pairs of strong arms wrapped around her and the chair; just holding her.

 _And you know my heart by heart  
And you know my heart by heart  
And you know my heart by heart  
And you know my heart by heart_

With the final note of the song, the phone started to shut down and the trio remained silent as the screen became completely black. The silence remained as tear drops fell onto the screen as Kyra started to cry when the last official connection she had to home was gone. The brothers tightened their hold on her before Kili pulled away to take the phone and earbuds so Fili could pick Kyra up and take her back to bed. As all three settled back into bed, the brothers took turns smoothing her hair and offering her soft words of comfort with an occasional kiss to the forehead or cheek. Kyra pulled them as close as possible to her as she slowly stopped crying and let sleep claim her and her dwarves once more.


	8. Chapter 6 part 2

Kyra woke a couple hours later to find her dwarves re-braiding each other's hair and talking softly. She re-positioned herself against the pillows to watch them, but was careful not to interrupt them. It was interesting to see them re-doing braids and putting the beads back in. How each braid was different and they each meant something. Kyra felt her heart become whole as she watched them, knowing that they wanted her.

It was an odd feeling but she welcomed it because she wanted them too. A few minutes later, Kyra was out of bed and pulling on her socks and pants which she had removed last night before Kili and Fili had showed up. At her movement, the brother's paused in their conversation to stare, unashamed at Kyra's naked legs until she pulled her pants up and buttoned them. At the lack of talking in the room, Kyra looked up to see her dwarves watching her, their eyes twinkling happily. She cocked an eyebrow at them in challenge to keep watching as she grabbed the edge of her tunic, getting ready to remove it.

The brother's just leaned back in their chairs and crossed their arms in a silent acceptance of her challenge. Kyra rolled her eyes before removing the tunic to reveal her upper torso and her sports bra. She folded the tunic before placing it on the bed to be packed up later. She reached for the tunic that Kili had given her to be stopped by said dwarf. Kyra raised her eyes to his as he grabbed the tunic instead.

Gentle finger tips ran up along her other arm, causing her to shiver as she looked to see Fili move to stand behind her. He continued to run his fingers up her arm, over her shoulder and to the back of her neck to run down her lower back. The feel of his warm skin on hers caused goose bumps to form and a soft gasp to escape her lips which turned into a quiet moan when Kili's fingers joined his brother's in caressing her. Turning her head back to Kili, he smiled at her before sliding the tunic over her head and Fili helped him to finish getting Kyra dressed. As the tunic fell into place, Fili placed his hands on top of the fabric at her hips to pull Kyra's back fully against his chest.

She turned her head to look at him as he leaned down and captured her lips in their first kiss. The kiss only lasted a few moments but it was tender and strong like the dwarf behind her. Soon the kiss ended and Fili's lips were replaced by Kili's. His kiss was soft and sweet, just like him. Too soon, his kiss was also over. Kyra slowly opened her eyes to Kili stroking her cheek and a smile on his face.

Fili and Kyra returned his smile before separating to finish getting ready for the day. The trio left Kyra's room shortly after to join the company for breakfast. Afterwards, Kyra would be joining Thorin, Balin, and Gandalf for a meeting with Lord Elrond. Until then, the trio would relax with their friends and family. Upon entering the dining hall, Kyra spotted her brother and broke away from her dwarves to embrace him.

Bilbo chuckled at his sister but returned the embrace none the less. Breaking away from her, he noticed the tunic she was wearing and raised an eyebrow at her with a questioning look on his face. She blushed in response before taking his arm and dragging him towards the table to sit down. Both could hear the Durin brothers chuckle behind them as they followed. They choose to sit on the opposite side of Bilbo and Kyra to at least give them a little privacy to talk about the news of the trio. When all four were seated, they remained silent as they filled their plates and began to eat.

Kyra shifted nervously while moving the food on her plate around without actually eating it. Bilbo placed a hand on her arm in concern, making her jump slightly in surprise. She quickly looked across the table to see Fili and Kili in a conversation with Dwalin and Bifur, which made some of her nervousness disappear when she turned back to Bilbo. The concern and worry on his face and in his eyes made her feel bad for even being nervous but she couldn't help it. She didn't want to mess up her new family.

"Can we go take a walk? There's some stuff I want to talk to you about," she whispered to the hobbit. Bilbo frowned at her request but accepted and the two left the hall to take a walk around the gardens. The gardens of Rivendell were beautiful with several different types of flowers and bushes that Kyra had never seen before. Bilbo took it upon himself to explain the ones he actually knew to her until they reached a bench on the side of the path and sat down where silence fell around them.

"What…what did you want to talk about?" the hobbit started. He would be lying if he said he wasn't worried and afraid. Mostly afraid that Kyra didn't want to be his sister any more after he saw the bead that she had received the night before.

"Um…well first, Thorin has adopted me as his daughter, like how I adopted you as my brother," Kyra explained nervously. Her nervousness disappeared into dismay as she watched Bilbo's face turn from worry to unhappiness and rejection.

"I guess that means you won't need me as a brother anymore," he responded softly; the sadness was clear in his voice. His response caused Kyra to slap his arm in anger.

"That is not true Bilbo Baggins! Thorin knows that you will stay my brother no matter what. He respects family and he will not part us just because I am now a Durin. I am a part of your family as much as his. Nothing will change that!" she finished with a huff. Bilbo stared at her with wide eyes as he rubbed his injured arm before smiling at her.

"I can accept that."

"Good."

"But what about Fili and Kili, and this tunic?" he asked slyly. He chuckled as her cheeks darkened in a blush when she grabbed the drawstring of said tunic. She looked out at the garden to contemplate what she should say. After an internal struggle, she took a deep breath and turned to Bilbo.

"Fili and Kili are courting me. Together. I feel the same for both of them. I hope you can accept us!" she finished hastily before bowing her head, she scared to see what his expressions would be.

"I…them…you…all three?" he asked the best he could from the shock that she had given him. At her nod, he crossed his arms and stared out at the garden in silence. They sat like that for what seemed like hours before Kyra risked a glance at him.

"Are you mad?" Bilbo sighed at her question before looking at her.

"Honestly no. I knew something was going on as well as the others. I just want you happy. If both of them make you happy then you have my blessing."

"Really? Are you sure?" Bilbo laughed and wrapped a arm around her shoulders.

"Of course I am. However, if they hurt you in any way then they'll have a Baggins to deal with." They both laughed at his words but they both knew that he would do everything in his power to stick up for her if he felt she was being wronged.

It was nice knowing she had family she could rely on; to have someone who had her back and to have her best interests at heart. They sat and talked for awhile longer when they were interrupted by a meddling wizard with a twinkle in his eye to let them know it was time for lunch. For the rest of the day, Kyra spent most of it with Bilbo and every once in awhile her dwarves would join them but they didn't stay long because they seemed to know that she needed to spend time with just her and her brother. The privacy that the two dwarves gave her and her brother just made her heart fonder and earned respect from the hobbit which made it easier for him to further accept their courtship of his sister.

* * *

Later that evening, Kyra and Bilbo were found by Dwalin back out in the garden watching the moon rise as they talked about their childhoods. Dwalin shifted uncomfortably at the familial moment but interrupted them anyways since Thorin had asked him to let Kyra know it was time for the meeting and that Bilbo was invited. Bilbo sputtered in response to the invitation while Kyra rolled her eyes and dragged him with her as they followed Dwalin through the halls of Rivendell to the council room where the others waited. Entering the room, Kyra continued to drag Bilbo to Thorin with a huge grin on her face, causing Thorin to give her a small smile in return before he and Bilbo nodded politely to each other while Balin argued with Gandalf and Lord Elrond over the details of their meeting in the background.

"Oh for goodness sake!" Gandalf stated angrily before turning to the silent trio. "Thorin. Show him the map." Thorin looked between the wizard and the older dwarf before sighing.

"It is the legacy of my people. It is mine to protect, as are its secrets," he replied.

"Save me from the stubbornness of dwarves. Your pride will be your downfall. You stand in the presence of one of the few in Middle-earth who can read that map!" the wizard explained as Lord Elrond watched patiently. Kyra turned to her adopted father to place a hand on his arm to grab his attention. When he turned to her, she nodded her head to him.

"Show it to Lord Elrond." Father and daughter stared hard at each other before Thorin sighed once more and reached into his jacket to retrieve the map.

"Thorin, no!" Balin started in surprise.

"Balin," Kyra spoke up, interrupting the dwarf. "Enough." Her stern words caused Balin to bow his head to his new lady and to remain silent. Thorin swelled up slightly in pride at Kyra's leadership before turning to Lord Elrond to hand him the map. The elf opened it and a look of surprise passed over his features.

"Erebor. What is your interest in this map?" he asked while he studied the drawings and runes.

"It's mostly academic," Gandalf spoke up quickly. "As you know, this sort of artifact sometimes contains hidden text. You still can read ancient dwarvish, do you not?"

"Of course, but I'm not the only one in this room who knows what type of runes are on this map." Everyone instantly turned to look at Kyra where she straightened her posture at the immediate attention.

"I know what type of runes are written but I do not know what it says," she responded with half truth and half lie. The corner of Lord Elrond's mouth twitched as he tried to conceal a smile.

"What runes are they?" Thorin asked.

"There are moon runes."

"Moon runes?" Bilbo asked skeptically.

"Of course! An easy thing to miss," Gandalf laughed happily.

"I'm sorry for not telling you Thorin but I didn't think it would be important since I can't read it. It also needs the correct shape of the moon and time of the year to read them."

"It's alright Ky," Thorin replied softly to her while wrapping a arm around her shoulders in reassurance. Kyra nodded and smiled a little at the nickname before focusing her attention back on Lord Elrond. Everyone watched him walk to the pedestal on a balcony where he placed the map. In doing so, everyone moved with him to witness the runes appear across the map in shimmering light.

"Lady Kyra is correct. These runes were written on a Midsummer's Eve by the light of a crescent moon nearly two hundred years ago. It would seem you were meant to come to Rivendell. Fat is definitely with you, Thorin Oakenshield."

"You can read them then?" Bilbo asked impatiently, the suspense was getting to the hobbit and he wanted to learn everything that was going on. The elf gave the impatient hobbit an annoyed look before addressing the runes.

" _Stand by the gray stone when the thrush knocks and the setting sun with the last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the keyhole."_

"Durin's Day? Balin and Thorin quickly began to discuss the news they just had received. Lord Elrond watched with suspicion, before the two dwarves confirmed his suspicion when they revealed that they were looking for the entrance to Erebor.

"So this is your purpose, to enter the mountain?"

"What of it?" Thorin asked haughtily.

"There are some who would not deem it wise. However, the Valar have blessed your quest with Lady Kyra so I will also give my blessing. We will provide any provisions you need for your journey." The surprise on the dwarves faces were for all to see before Thorin went back into gruff mode and glared at the elf.

"Why would you help us?"

"Why would I not? Because I am an elf? My kin and I are not like the woodland elves. Once I've given my word, I keep it." Thorin looked like he was about to argue but was stopped by Kyra.

"It is the truth. Lord Elrond is honorably were King Thranduil is not. He will not betray his word."

"I mean no disrespect my lady but how can you be sure?" Balin asked with the best soothing tone he could for he didn't want to offended the newest Durin with his doubts. His question ended up offending her brother instead as he sputtered angrily in her place.

"What do you mean how does she know? The Valar picked her! She's already proven that she has knowledge we do not and that knowledge can be trusted. To question her like that is to question Thorin and the Valar." Bilbo's triad brought a small smile to everyone in the room, including Balin.

"Aye, that you are right laddy. I apologize my lady for the lack of faith."

"It's alright Balin."

"Now that's settled, we should take stock of what we need so we can set out as soon as possible," Gandalf announced. Everyone nodded and thanked Lord Elrond as they began to depart the room. They had preparations to make before they could sleep that night.


End file.
